Medical Attention
by jstar1382
Summary: S1 AU Based on a tumblr prompt from anon: Castle's a doctor, a friend of Lanie's. AU Caskett meeting at Lanie's birthday. *Castle Winter Hiatus 2014 Ficathon Entry* Cover art by the awesome (ScribbleAStory)
1. Chapter 1

_A/N- This started off as a quick one-shot that I previously posted to tumblr, but it took on a life of its own...So here it is :)_

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or anything about it, but all mistakes are mine!

* * *

><p><strong><em>Medical Attention<em>**

* * *

><p>S1 AU Based on a tumblr prompt from anon: Castle's a doctor, a friend of Lanie's. AU Caskett meeting at Lanie's birthday. *Castle Winter Hiatus 2014 Ficathon Entry*<p>

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 1<span>**

"Girl, I can't believe you came!" Lanie called from across the bar. Her surprise brought a huge smile to Kate's face.

"Of course I'm here! It's your birthday! What kind of friend would I be if I didn't show up?" she asked, pulling her friend into a hug.

"Still a great friend, but just your typical anti-social self. I see you actually wore a little lipstick." Lanie was teasing, but there was surprise in her tone. Maybe she did need to get out more.

"Yeah, well I'm not all work," Kate stated with a smile.

"Could've fooled me!"

"And I'm leaving," she joked turning back toward the door, but Lanie grabbed her arm.

"Oh no you're not. I've got someone I want to introduce you to!"

Oh _God._

"I didn't come here to be set up, Lanie. I came to celebrate my best friend's birthday," Kate grumbled while rolling her eyes.

"Well then—consider this just an added bonus!" she smirked and tugged on Kate's hand.

Lanie led her through the crowd to the back of the bar near the pool tables. Kate's eyes were immediately drawn to a tall handsome man who was leaning over the table about to take his shot.

"That's Rick," Lanie whispered.

_Oh_.

"That's Rick," Kate repeated in awe of the man as a smile stretched across his face after hitting the ball perfectly. That man was gorgeous.

They watched as the game finished up and before she knew it, Lanie was waving Rick over to them.

"There's the birthday girl," Rick said with a smile, greeting Lanie with a friendly kiss on the cheek.

"I went to find the friend I was telling you about," she explained.

"You were talking about _me_," Kate hissed through her teeth.

"She was just telling me that she had this beautiful friend that I had to meet and I have to say—her description was inaccurate," Rick said with a slight upturn to his lips.

Kate's heart dropped. "I see."

"Beautiful was an insult to you. You're extraordinary." He winked at her and she could feel the heat rising against her cheeks.

Sure, he was probably just feeding her a line, but she was falling for it. Of course, she wouldn't let _him_ know that.

"I'm sure you say that to every girl you try to hit on," Kate smirked. Lanie cleared her throat which snapped Kate out of her thoughts.

"Dr. Rick Rodgers, this is Kate Beckett," Lanie said, finally getting the official introductions out of the way while rolling her eyes at Kate.

"Detective Kate Beckett," she corrected which earned her an elbow to the ribs from Lanie. "Nice to meet you." She smiled at Rick and extended her hand.

"Pleasure is all mine," Rick said bringing the top of her hand to his lips.

Wow. He was laying it on thick, but for some reason she didn't mind.

* * *

><p>By the time she was ready to leave for the night, three hours and several drinks later, a couple of inches of snow had fallen on the streets outside.<p>

New York was a beautiful blanket of white as she walked out of the bar; a light flurry continued to fall as she looked up at the sky with the smile.

She loved the snow.

"It makes the city calmer I think," Rick said, walking up behind her.

"God, Rick! You scared me!" She had thought she was the only one leaving.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to make you jump. I was just heading home." He gave her a quick smile and she was sure that her face flushed in response. Maybe it wasn't so horrible that Lanie introduced her to Rick.

"Me too," she said with a smile but turned toward the street so he didn't see her blushing.

"Why don't we share a cab? The odds of us finding two separate cabs in this weather in this end of town—not that likely…"

His suggestion wasn't the worst thing in the world. Yet she couldn't bring herself to agree.

"I don't know about tha—" Kate started to decline his offer when she stepped forward and slipped on a patch of ice on the sidewalk. She tried to brace herself from the fall, but in the process she ended up landing on her wrist.

Just what she needed.

"Oh shit! Kate! Are you alright?" he asked, helping her off of the ground.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine," she said with a wince.

"You fell on that pretty hard. Let me take a look at it?" He reached out for her arm while running his free hand across her skin. "It's already swelling, Kate. I should probably take you to the ER for an x-ray."

"I slipped on ice. I'll live. Seriously. It barely hurts." She wasn't being completely honest, but this wasn't the first impression she wanted to leave him with.

"Kate…"

"What about the cab? You still want to share?" she asked, trying to take both of their minds off of her clumsiness.

A couple of minutes later they lucked out and were able to wave down a cab. Rick eased himself into the backseat first and then held his hand out to help Kate into the car.

"Are you sure you don't want to get it checked out?" His voice was soft and concerned. He seemed like he really cared, but they had only just met. Was this how he acted with all women?

"Yeah. I'm sure," she whispered.

"You know, I _am_ a doctor."

The cab took a sharp turn and her body slammed against Rick. His cologne overwhelmed her senses, making her drunk from it.

"Hmm. You're a pediatrician and I'm an adult," she teased, moving back to her side of the seat.

"Same principles apply," Rick smirked.

"My bones are stronger than a child's…"

"Actually, bone density starts to decrease—"

Kate reached over with her uninjured arm and covered his mouth. "If that sentence will end in any way that could possible make me feel old, I would advise against it." She smiled at him and removed her hand.

"Noted," he laughed. "So we'll just go home; take a hot bath and go to bed."

Her eyes widened as the words slipped from his lips.

"Excuse me?" she asked, raising an eye brow at him. However in the backseat of the dark cab, she wasn't so sure he could entirely see her face.

"Separately!" Rick clarified with a chuckle and she couldn't help the giggle that escaped from her own lips. "Katherine Beckett. I never!" he teased in a scandalized tone.

"Easy Rick. I knew what you meant and yes, a long bath sounds great right about now," she sighed, leaning back onto the seat as the cab pulled up to the curb outside of her building.

"Do you use lots of bubbles?"

The glare she shot him shut him up as she stepped out of the cab.

"It was nice to meet you, Rick. Goodnight," Kate said with a small smile.

Her arm throbbed as she made her way up to her place, but she couldn't stop her grin from spreading.

She owed Lanie.

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><p><em>Thanks for reading! I would love to hear what you think.<em>

_xoxo_

**_Tumblr prompt: Castle's a doctor, a friend of Lanie. They meet at her birthday, or maybe after an accident, Kate refuses to go to the hospital and Lanie calls Rick to check on her._**


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N- I'm completely blown away about the response to this story. Thank you to all of you who are reading this. I hope you continue to enjoy it!_

Jo- thanks for all your help and advice and encouragement with my writing :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or anything about it, but all mistakes are mine!

* * *

><p><strong><em>Medical Attention<em>**

* * *

><p>Castle's S1 AU Based on a tumblr prompt from anon: Castle's a doctor, a friend of Lanie's. AU Caskett meeting at Lanie's birthday. *Castle Winter Hiatus 2014 Ficathon Entry*<p>

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

By the time Beckett got to work the next day her arm was completely black and blue. Not only bruised, her wrist was swollen enough to make wearing a long sleeve shirt a challenge. Her already chaotic entire morning routine had been thrown out of balance because of her injury. She should really get it looked at; Rick was probably right.

A slow smile spread on her lips when she thought of the ruggedly handsome doctor. Lanie's party was the perfect way to get to know him without any unnecessary pressure of a first date. He was charming and smart.

Definitely her type, but she wouldn't ask for his number.

As much as she really enjoyed his company, she wasn't at a place in her life where she could open herself up to dating anyone. She was responsible for too much and she couldn't distract herself with a man.

At least not now.

She cleared her thoughts when she stepped off the elevator. There wasn't any time to daydream about a hot doctor when there were murders to solve and justice to serve. Turning the corner toward her desk, Beckett could see both of her partners were already working on paperwork. That _never_ happened.

"Morning!"

"Hey Beckett," they said in unison. Their synchronicity was a little odd, but it happened more often than she cared to count.

"I didn't see either of you at Lanie's party…" she said, only half listening to their response as she looked down at her desk and started organizing the paper work. Beside it sat her empty coffee cup. That would need to be remedied soon.

"Wait a second, you're telling me that _you_ actually attended a social gathering?" Esposito asked with a raised eyebrow. "You don't _ever_ go anywhere…Did hell actually freeze over?"

"Yeah, well—I promised her I would, so I did. You can both get over your shock and close your mouths. So why didn't you go, Esposito?"

"I had a date."

"Me too," Ryan added. Her head sprung up from what she was doing and now she was looking at her partners in shock.

"With each other?" Kate laughed.

"_With each other_," Esposito mocked. "No, not with each other! My date was hot. I still don't entirely believe Ryan's date actually happened."

"It happened!" he defended.

"What happened?" A familiar voice asked from behind her, causing her to spin around in her chair.

"_Rick_?" Kate asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

He grinned at her all the while ignoring the slack jaws of her partners.

"Lanie asked that I come down and discuss something with her this morning…"

Well that sounded suspicious.

"Mmhmm. Pediatricians and medical examiners talk shop all of the time," she smirked.

"Beckett? Would you like to introduce us to your _friend_?" Ryan teased.

"Ryan, Esposito, this is Dr. Rick Rodgers. He's a friend of Lanie's."

Yeah, they weren't going to let this one go easily. First she'd admitted to going to the party last night and now a new man had appeared out of nowhere. Not her typical behavior, she'd admit that.

"Rick, these are my partners, Detective Javier Esposito and Detective Kevin Ryan."

"Nice to meet you both," he greeted with a huge grin on his face.

"Nice to meet you too, _Rick._" Ryan said with a smile.

"Yeah, nice to meet you. A _doctor_. How interesting!" Esposito mocked.

She could see where this conversation was going and Rick didn't deserve it; especially since he was someone she just met. The big brother routine would have to wait for another day.

"Let's go to the break room. Too many prying eyes," Kate said in a tone loud enough for her partners to hear.

"Hey, I take offense to that," Ryan called over to her as she ushered Rick off into the other direction.

She closed the door behind her and gave Rick a small smile.

"I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it. They call you Beckett?"

"Yeah, it's a cop thing," she explained, walking to the coffee pot to pour herself a cup. Kate pulled another mug down and poured Rick a cup which he gladly accepted.

"Ooo, I could call you Beckett, too. Pretend I'm a cop."

Her lips turned upwards from his childlike excitement. He was adorable.

"If you're a cop, what happens to all your patients? You'd break all their little hearts," Kate argued.

"I didn't say _be _a cop. I said _pretend_ just so I could call you Beckett. I think that's fun," he said which brought a giggle from her lips. She was giggling? Who was this guy? Trying to keep a shred of dignity, she drank a long sip of coffee and took a deep breath.

"Rick, why did you really stop by?"

"Lanie said she needed me to meet her but I should've known better. It was just her way of getting me here so she could ask me about last night," Rick said while rolling his eyes.

"About last night?"

"Don't tell me she hasn't asked you about me?"

"I actually just got into work so I haven't seen her yet today," she explained, "but yeah I'm sure she'll ask."

"And what are you going to tell her?"

"I'll tell her that I had a blast at the party and then I embarrassed myself by slipping on some ice," she laughed and took another sip.

"No reason to be embarrassed. How's your wrist?"

She sucked in a breath, biting down on her lip to hold back a wince.

"It's fine."

"Which leads me to believe it's the exact opposite of fine. Let me see."

Kate took a moment before giving in and letting Rick roll up her sleeve.

"It'll be okay tomorrow—"

"No, it won't. Beckett, I'm 95% sure your wrist is broken. Please let me take you to the ER. We can go to the one that I sometimes make consultations at. This way you can get in and out without a long wait—but please let me take you."

Releasing a long sigh, Kate nodded. "Okay. It hurts like hell. Let's go."

"You may be the most stubborn patient I've ever had."

"Not your patient, Rick."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's get moving. Doctor's orders."

The phrase 'if looks could kill' may have applied at this point.

* * *

><p>Kate's boss Captain Montgomery seemed to understand when she explained that Rick wanted to take her to the ER. His exact words to her were, '<em>You're no good to me in the field if you're injured. Get it taken care of<em>.' Maybe that was his own way of being sympathetic? Maybe it was a cop thing?

He could understand why Lanie enjoyed working with the cops. The precinct had an interesting vibe that his pediatric office didn't have.

Not that he didn't love his career.

Helping kids was most definitely his calling. Hell, he was a big kid himself; at least that was what his first wife Meredith had said. Yet, he was more responsible than she was so he got the honor of raising their daughter while she had decided that Los Angeles and her career were more important than motherhood.

No, he wouldn't trade his medical practice or seeing his patients grow up, but the precinct was cool.

Different, but cool.

Although, the one thing that held the majority of his interest at the precinct was the gorgeous brunette detective who he was currently escorting into the ER. She was guarded, but last night there had been a definite spark between them. That was the first time he felt like that upon meeting a woman in a long time. She wasn't a one night stand; she had potential.

He told Kate to sit in the waiting room chairs so he could go up to the check in desk and get her paperwork.

"Hi Denise," he said with a charming smile.

"Oh! Dr. Rodgers, I didn't notice you come in. Do you have a patient in the ER?"

"No, no. I'm not here on rounds or anything. My friend, Kate Beckett, hurt her wrist and I was hoping we could just get her back there for a quick x-ray." He signed Kate in quickly and handed the clipboard back to Denise.

"Sure! No problem. I'll call back to radiology and have them set up. I can get her back into an exam room and have Dr. Blakely meet her back there with the paperwork."

"You are a huge help as usual! Much appreciated," he said with a wink before he walked back to Kate.

"Kate Beckett?" An ER nurse called out for her. She must have been new because he had never seen her before.

"Wow, that was fast. Did you bribe the woman at the front desk?" Kate asked with a laugh. Her laugh was enchanting and he found himself staring at her smile before he realized he had probably passed the length of time that it was socially acceptable before answering. "Rick?"

"Oh, um. No. Denise has worked at the hospital for years so she's usually here whenever I have a patient I need to see or sign a transfer. She's a friend, so she did me a little favor," he said while putting a palm to the small of her back to direct her toward the exam rooms.

"I can wait here if you'd like," he offered.

"Rick, it's my arm. It's not like I'm getting stripped down naked," she teased. Now there was a thought.

_Focus_. Need to focus.

"I wouldn't object if you wanted to do that as well," he said, with a raised eyebrow and a laugh. Kate jabbed him in the side with her uninjured arm for that comment. He would never admit it to her, but that kind of hurt.

"Keep dreaming, doctor boy!"

"Doctor boy? Trust me Kate, I'm all man," Rick joked bringing an adorable shade of pink to her cheeks.

"Well I'll have to be the judge of that."

Now he was pretty sure he was the one blushing. Last night at the bar, she had been teasing him just as much as he had her. Her sense of humor was something that had drawn him to her immediately. He couldn't figure out why Lanie hadn't introduced the two of them earlier. She was definitely his type.

"That can be arranged later if you'd like," Rick laughed, but she just gave him a small turn up of her lips. The moment had passed and her flirtatious smile had vanished.

He couldn't read her.

Kate seemed to be attracted to him too, but every time he had mentioned the possibility of dinner or a movie last night she had changed the subject. She had a wall of some sort.

A few minutes later, she was whisked away to radiology where they detected that she had a hairline fracture in her wrist.

"So it's only slightly broken," Kate sighed.

"Still broken enough. We just have to wait for the ER doc to come back and he'll explain everything that you have to do."

She looked down at her phone and rolled her eyes.

"Montgomery just texted me and said he didn't want to see me for the rest of the day. I have a broken arm. I haven't been shot."

"True, but I'm sure you're in a lot of pain by now."

"Maybe," she huffed.

"If you're a good girl, I'll take you for ice cream." She groaned and poked him in the side. "Ow!"

"Don't treat me like a child."

"Well you are kind of my patient…"

"Not at all your patient, Rick. I'm Dr. Blakely's patient, but—" she paused and then looked down at her watch. "I'll let you treat me for ice cream."

"You drive a hard bargain, Detective."

"I try my best, Doctor."

It was true. Kate Beckett was a mystery, but it was one he wouldn't mind spending some time trying to solve.

* * *

><p>Kate had finally settled things down for the night and she was cleaning up the kitchen from cooking dinner. However, trying to do everything with just one good arm had made what was always a difficult nightly routine harder. She would have loved to sit down with a glass of wine after the long day she'd had, but the pain meds that Rick had insisted she needed couldn't be taken with alcohol. So she sat down on the couch with a glass of water and reached for the novel on the end table that she was in the middle of reading. Not really what she was in the mood for, but it would do.<p>

Just as she opened the book to the page she was on, someone knocked at her door. She looked down at her father's watch. Who would be visiting at nine o'clock?

In a state of confusion and wariness, she walked to the front door and looked through the peephole before opening the door.

"Rick, what are you doing here? And how did you know my apartment number?"

She was a little surprised to see him at her door, but not shocked. Kate opened the door a little wider so she could step out into the hallway with him, leaving the door open just a crack. Rick raised his eyebrow, apparently in confusion that she hadn't invited him inside.

"Lanie gave me your address. I came to check on my patient…"

"Didn't we clear this up earlier? You brought me to the ER. You're still not my doctor," she grinned.

"Can I come in?" Rick gave her an eager smile when their eyes met, but she broke the contact to look down at her fidgeting hands. She objected with a slight shake of her head.

"It's not really a good time, we can talk right here. What did you need?" His smile fell and his brow furrowed in confusion from her denial.

"Kate? What's going on?" he asked. "I thought we got along great at Lanie's party and then today I thought we had a good time together considering... We have a connection and yet—we're having a conversation in your doorway…"

"Rick, we did have a good time. And yes—I feel that connection too, but—I just can't date right now."

"I'm not asking you to marry me, Kate. I just want to take you on a date. Maybe dinner? Maybe a movie? Just something fun."

"That sounds great, it really does, but it's not a good idea right now." The door behind her cracked open a little more and she could feel little arms wrap around her leg.

"Mommy? Who's at the door?" She took a sharp breath and turned toward the boy with a smile; opening her arms to him. As carefully as she could with one arm, Kate lifted him up. Turning back toward Rick, his expression was understandably stunned as Kate kissed the boy on the cheek.

"Kate?"

She wiped her hand over her eyes in defeat and opened the door even wider for Rick to come inside.

"Rick, this is Liam, my son."

* * *

><p><em><strong>TBC<strong>_

_Thanks for reading! I would love to know what you all think!_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N- If you are reading this...Thank you! I apologizing for not responding to your reviews but I'm still in process. I just wanted to post this chapter for you all to read. Thanks again!_

_Jo- thanks for all your help as always :)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or anything about it, but all mistakes are mine!_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Medical Attention<em>**

* * *

><p><em>Castle's S1 AU Based on a tumblr prompt from anon: Castle's a doctor, a friend of Lanie's. AU Caskett meeting at Lanie's birthday. *Castle Winter Hiatus 2014 Ficathon Entry*<em>

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

So that was her big secret?

That's why she was blowing him off.

"Kate?" he asked, following her farther into her apartment as she set the little boy onto her couch in the living room. "Kate? Talk to me." He didn't want to push her, but she had finally invited him inside and now she wouldn't say a word.

Turning to her son, Kate brushed a kiss on to her forehead. "Baby, I'm going to go talk to Mommy's friend in the kitchen. Just lay here and close your eyes. I'll take you back to bed in a minute."

"Okay, Mommy," the boy whispered and gave her a tight hug. Turning away, Kate motioned for Rick to follow her to the small kitchen area. He pulled off his coat and leaned it on one of the bar stools.

"Now you understand…" she murmured.

"Now I understand? What exactly am I supposed to understand? You're a mother…" He had a daughter. The fact that Kate had a kid didn't change his interest in her.

"Exactly. I'm a mother. Liam comes first, so I can't—I just can't get involved with anyone right now," she explained, walking to the sink to fill a quick glass of water, only to take a sip before dumping it back out. She seemed nervous and wouldn't even look at him. Maybe this was too bold of a move and maybe she would kick him out of her apartment, but he walked over to her and carefully pulled her into his arms. She acted like she was offended at first, but eventually sank into his embrace; laying her head onto his shoulder.

"It doesn't change anything, Kate."

She nudged out of his arms, quicker than he would've preferred, but at least she didn't punch him for holding her in the first place. She shot him a look and started to pace.

"How can it not? I can't exactly just go someplace on a whim. My life is nothing but complicated, Rick."

He tried to reach out to her and calm her down, but now she was shying away from his touch.

"Everyone's life is complicated in some way. The fact that you're a mom? That's not a complication—it's just another layer to the Kate Beckett onion that I'm peeling away. You're a mystery Kate—one that I hope to one day learn more about." He tried to explain the best that he could, but words were failing him. Then it hit him; she didn't know about his daughter.

"Rick, take a look around. This is my life. Precinct by day; single mom by night. Not that glamorous or exciting."

"Who said I wanted glamorous or exciting? Plus, I know a thing or two about being a single parent. I was raised by a single mom and now I'm a single dad."

Her head shot up in shock. That got her to stop pacing. He gave her a small smile, trying to convey to her that he understood.

"Lanie didn't tell me that you had a kid." Her voice seemed softer, a little less on edge. He watched as her shoulders relaxed and her breathing evened. "Coffee?"

Rick nodded in agreement and pulled out a stool from the breakfast bar to sit down on.

"Well she didn't tell me you had one either, but maybe she knew we had something else in common and that we'd figure it out," he said with a shrug.

"So you're a dad…" Kate started, handing him a steaming mug full of coffee. Their fingers brushed against each other as he reached for it, the simplest of touches igniting him, and he felt like a teenager again. He took a long sip and pulled out the stool next to him for her to sit down.

"Alexis," he said, showing Kate a picture from his phone. "She's fifteen going on thirty. I think sometimes she's more of the parent than I am. I really lucked out with her." He chuckled and then looked down at his cup.

"She's beautiful. Where's her mom, if you don't mind me asking?" Kate asked, placing her hand on his forearm.

That was _unexpected_, but he didn't want to draw any attention to it because it felt nice. It seemed natural.

"Meredith lives in California. She wasn't exactly fit for motherhood, so I got full custody of Alexis in the divorce."

"Single dad and full time doctor? How do you find time?"

"It was hard in the beginning before I joined the practice, but I was lucky that I had my mother's help. She was in between roles—"

"Roles?"

"Yeah, she's an actress. Mostly small stage roles now, but when I was a kid she had enough work to keep us traveling around the country until I started boarding school."

"Sounds like you've had some life."

He shrugged, but gave her a smile. Rick wasn't one to usually open up to anyone. Yet with Kate, he wanted to share. He looked back toward the couch and smiled at her son passed out.

"So know you know a bit about my story…"

"Liam's three. He's a handful, but I wouldn't trade being his mom for anything in the world," she said with a sigh, hiding her face from him again.

"His dad?" He was prying. He winced as soon as the question left his lips, but he could tell there was a story there. It had always been in his nature to be curious.

"Not in the picture. Never gave him the time of day," she replied, her voice void of emotion.

"His loss. Liam's adorable. I would love to officially meet him one day."

He knew he was being forward, but he was sitting here with her and he couldn't think of any reason why this would be a bad idea. They were sitting here, opening up to each other, and there was a level of comfort he hadn't felt with someone in a very long time.

The look on her face appeared to be conflicted. "Rick, I don't know about that. In another life, I think we could be something. I do. But in this life? The reality is, I rarely get a sitter so my free nights are usually spent cuddling on the couch reading to him or watching a movie."

"And that sounds great…" He was pretty sure she could make anything entertaining.

"You say that now, but it gets old quickly." She shook her head and took a deep breath to admit. "I haven't gone on a date in over a year. Most men get tired of the idea of waiting for me to find someone to watch him. Of the ones I've dated since having Liam, none have stuck around past the first date. So I promised myself that I wouldn't let him get attached to someone since people don't have the habit of sticking around." Kate rambled her confession, her voice losing confidence at the end. Finishing up her drink, she stood up, but he slid his hand over to squeeze her free hand.

"Sounds like a challenge."

"No, not a challenge. It's just how my life has to be," she said, giving him a sad smile before she walked her mug to the sink.

Rick could feel the sadness in her words and he hated to think she carried this around with her every day. The woman he met yesterday at the party was happy and magnetic. He could still see her in Kate's eyes, but she was overshadowed by the duty and responsibility of the woman who stood before him.

"Sounds pretty lonely, Kate." He took his final sip of his coffee and met her by the sink. His arm brushed against hers as he placed his empty mug in the basin. She turned to face him, close enough to feel the heat from her body.

"I have him," Kate said, motioning to her sleeping son.

"You can be a great mom and love your son and still be lonely," he whispered, leaning his body forward, the pull from her was too strong.

"I'm fi—" She moved away and he didn't follow. He didn't want to come on too strong. He didn't want to scare her away.

"Don't say you're fine. Fine is just a placeholder of a word. Fine is a word a person uses when they don't want to say what's really on their mind."

"Rick…"

"Kate, just look at me. Your son? He's not a deal breaker for me. He doesn't make me any less interested in you, but I can see you have your guard up. Almost a wall—trying to protect yourself."

"I'd do anything to protect him."

"Understandable. I just want the opportunity to get to know you better."

"I can't promise anything," she said with a sigh, but looked up to meet his eyes. "But I'm not saying no."

"Then there's hope…" He smiled at her and grabbed his coat.

"Hope can be a scary thing."

"Or it can be the best." He leaned down to kiss her cheek. A gorgeous shade of pink flushed her cheeks as he turned away and walked toward the door. "Get some rest, Kate. I'll talk to you soon."

"Good night, Rick," she responded in a hushed tone and he clicked the door behind him shut.

* * *

><p>He practically floated home to his loft.<p>

Even though Kate turned him down initially, he couldn't shake the feeling that she wasn't really saying no. There had to be some way to let her that she could trust him.

"Hey, Dad. Did you go see that detective?" Alexis asked as he walked through the front door.

"I did. How did you know?" He flopped down on the couch next to her.

"Because you couldn't stop talking about her at dinner. I could just tell. You like her…" she said, raising her eyebrow. She was giving him the look. The parental 'I know more than you think' look, which caused laughter to spill from his lips and he nudged her shoulder.

"I do."

"Surprised to see you home already then," Alexis said, rolling her eyes. Sometimes it was like she thought she was the parent.

"First of all, not exactly the statement I want to hear coming from my daughter. Second of all, she's different," he beamed.

"By the goofy look on your face, I'm going to guess this is a good different."

"It is. And she has a son."

Alexis gave him a shocked look and then nodded with a laugh.

"Hmm. I see. Definitely different from the usual women you date."

"We're not dating."

Yet. Maybe he was overly confident, but he couldn't imagine a world where he and Kate Beckett didn't end up dating.

"I don't understand. You just were over there and you said you liked her. Did I miss something?"

"She doesn't think dating anyone is a good idea—I want to show her she can trust me. Maybe I should send her flowers tomorrow. Show her I'm thinking of her…"

"Anyone can send her flowers. Do something that shows that you care about her," she suggested. A grin slowly formed on his face as the idea dawned on him.

"Pumpkin, have I ever told you how smart you are?" he asked, pulling her into a bear hug and kissing her forehead.

"About once a day, but I'm sure not enough," she laughed.

"Remind me to tell you more often," he said with a chuckle. "Goodnight."

"Night, Dad."

He just needed to send a reminder so she would know that he was there.

* * *

><p>Her morning was smoother than she'd expected. Liam didn't argue about getting ready for daycare today and he gave her extra kisses on her injured wrist. When she dropped him off in the preschool room, she gave him a big hug and he joined the rest of the kids with a small wave. He was becoming his own little person; it was bittersweet.<p>

Her baby boy wasn't a baby anymore.

Liam's daycare was just a short walk to the precinct so she enjoyed the cool breeze and rare sun on the winter morning. She waved at Jones in the lobby as she entered the elevator. It was safe to say; Kate Beckett was in a great mood today.

As she walked up to her desk, she found a travel cup of coffee sitting on her desk which brought a small fluttering sensation in her stomach.

"Espo? Did you see someone in here this morning?" she called across the bullpen to her partner.

"Nah. It was sitting here when I got here two minutes ago," he said, looking up from his paperwork.

She looked closer at the cup and she noticed a small note slid underneath the bottom.

'_Here's to HOPE…_

_(By the way: the coffee in your break room tastes like a monkey peed in battery acid. Vanilla lattes seem more like you.)'_

A warm feeling spread throughout her chest and she couldn't suppress the grin from forming on her lips. Hope had always been a bad thing, but she wanted to believe in him.

She wanted to believe he was different.

It scared her to death. She had only known him for two days, but he already had her feeling like the things she had closed her mind to may actually be possible. He was friends with Lanie and she trusted her friend. If Rick was anything like any previous relationship or even like Liam's dad, Lanie would've never introduced her to him.

She reached for the cup of coffee and drank in the vanilla warmth with a happy sigh. It was the best coffee she had tasted in awhile. Kate closed her eyes, savoring the caffeine.

Just what she needed.

Here's to hope, she thought again.

Reaching into her back pocket, Kate pulled out her cell phone and found Rick's contact that he gave her the day before.

'_Thanks for the coffee. It's perfect. How about coming over for a movie tomorrow? 9 o'clock?'_

About ten minutes later, she received a text notification back.

'_I'll be there.'_

Maybe hope wasn't such a bad thing.

* * *

><p><em><strong>TBC<strong>_

_Thank you so much for reading! I would love to hear from you :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_Jo- thanks for all your help as always :)_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or anything associated with it, but all mistakes are mine!_

* * *

><p><strong><em>Medical Attention<em>**

* * *

><p>Castle's S1 AU Based on a tumblr prompt from anon: Castle's a doctor, a friend of Lanie's. AU Caskett meeting at Lanie's birthday. *Castle Winter Hiatus 2014 Ficathon Entry*<p>

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

"Mommy."

"Liam."

"Mommy."

"Liam. Babe, you're supposed to be asleep," Kate sighed, giving up on the verbal sparring with her three year old.

"I missed you," he whispered as he looked down at his feet.

"You can't miss me every time I put you to bed."

"I do. 'Cause I love you." The tiny smile that stretched on his face after he spoke made it nearly impossible to be angry at the child for getting out of bed.

"Well, I love you too, but it's past your bedtime." She knew it was a lost cause as she watched him walk further into the room.

"But I'm not sleepy. Can we cuddle?" Liam asked, jumping up on the couch next to her. She looked down at her son burrowing his way into her side and lifted her newly casted arm to wrap him closer into her embrace.

"Not tonight, Sweetheart. I'm having a friend over."

He lifted his head to look up at his mom. "A friend? Like Aunt Lanie?"

"Well no, not Aunt Lanie, but he's a friend." She figured there wasn't a reason to explain to a three year old what a date was.

"Are you going to play cars? You can play with my train…"

"I don't think we're going to play with toys tonight. We're probably just going to just watch a movie. So I need a certain little boy to go to bed," Kate said with a laugh and a quick tickle of his side.

"Can I watch too? We can watch Nemo…"

"I think this time it just has to be Mommy and her friend. Maybe another time."

She smiled down at her son and pulled him into her lap to give him a hug.

"You're squeezing me so tight, Mommy!" he giggled. "I can't breathe!" he squealed in delight.

"You wanted to cuddle," she said as laughter spilled from her lips and she hugged and tickled her son. "Cuddle, cuddle, cuddle."

"No more cuddles! No more cuddles!"

"Thought you wanted to cuddle?" Mother and son were near hysterics with laughter; this was her favorite part of being a mom. These simple moments of joy.

"No more! No more!"

"Fine. Then back to bed with you, Little Boy," Kate said as she scooped her son up into her arms and carried him back into his bedroom.

"Tuck me in please."

She pulled his blankets up to his chin and tucked them in tightly into the sides of his body.

"Snug as a bug?" she asked as she turned on his dinosaur night light.

"In a rug," Liam replied with a sleepy giggle. After a moment, his eyes started to droop closed. Kate smiled down at him and brushed a light kiss onto his forehead.

"Goodnight," she whispered as she walked to the doorway and clicked the door shut softly behind her.

Taking a deep breath, she glanced down at her watch. Rick would be here in a couple minutes and she should double check that she was presentable at least. She headed into her bedroom for a moment to look at herself in the mirror. Not the best she had ever looked, but it wasn't the worst either. She looked like a tired mother after a long day of work. This was her life; she wouldn't try to pretend to be something she wasn't.

Okay, well maybe she should at least change her shirt. Liam had chocolate and he had apparently shared his snack with her shirt.

Lovely.

Kate threw the stained shirt onto a pile of clothes that needed to be dry-cleaned and pulled out a soft purple sweater that paired perfectly with her dark-washed skinny jeans. Running her fingers through her short hair, she reassessed her appearance in the mirror.

Minor improvement.

Maybe she cared more about his opinion of how she looked than she had originally thought.

An anxious feeling fluttered in her stomach. Initially she had convinced herself that this was just two friends hanging out, but now as she stared at herself in the mirror she knew she was fooling herself.

This was a date with Rick Rodgers.

Rick Rodgers the hot pediatrician.

What the _hell_ was she doing?

Kate had a date and she was the one who invited him over. This was such a bad idea!

* * *

><p>Rick ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath. He typically wasn't nervous about going to a woman's apartment, but Kate Beckett was not the typical woman. When the text came through yesterday, inviting him over, he'd had to read it a couple times to believe that she was being serious.<p>

His evening plans had been the only thing that kept him going today at work. Cold and flu season had hit the area hard and he had lost count of the number of times he was sneezed on today. He had rushed home to shower and change as soon as he wrote his last script for cough medicine and signed off on his charts for the day.

On the way to her place, he stopped at a florist to buy a simple yellow rose. He didn't want to show up empty handed, but wine or a bouquet of red roses? That was too much pressure. That would be overkill.

Taking one more deep breath, he let his lifted fist hover near the door. Now or never. A moment passed and he could hear movement through the walls, but he didn't want to knock again in fear of waking up her son.

"Hey," Kate said, swinging the door the open. Her smile appeared hesitant as she shifted her weight on her heels. He could tell she was nervous too. At least he wasn't the only one.

Walking through the front door, he glanced around the apartment, finally appreciating the eclectic decorations that adorned her space that he had missed last time. After taking it all in, he turned back to her and smiled.

"You look great. I brought this for you." He handed her the long-stemmed flower, allowing his hand to briefly brush against hers. The spark that had been present in the few past touches of the last couple days was still heavily present, if not amplified.

"Thanks. It's beautiful," Kate murmured as she looked down, sweeping her fingertips over the petals. Her cheeks held a pink warmth that begged to draw him closer, but he resisted the urge. The date was her idea and he didn't want to make any move that would make her regret it. Before he could analyze the situation any further, Kate reached for his hand and led him to the couch.

Well that was unexpected, but nice.

"So what are we watching?" he asked, sitting down next to her as his thumb began to trace patterns on the top of her hand. Holding hands was the simplest of acts but from what he could gather, this was Kate taking a leap.

She leaned closer into his body and grinned. "Um, I was thinking we could watch—"

"Nemo?"

Kate jumped off of the couch at the sound of the small voice. His hand fell back to the couch as he turned his attention to the hall where the request came from.

"Liam, Babe. You're supposed to be in bed." With a slight upturn to her lips, Kate walked over to the little boy. The way that she positioned her body to him, Rick could tell that she was flustered. He knew that she didn't want them to be introduced. They hadn't even completed one date yet.

"I want to watch a movie," Liam said in a fake stage whisper.

"We can watch movies tomorrow. I have all day off. Just you and me." Her voice was calm and loving as she spoke to her son. The little boy peeked around Kate to look at Rick, before hiding his face back behind her body.

"Who's that?"

"That's Mommy's friend," she explained as she kneeled down to be at eye level with him. Liam poked his head around again and then hid again like a full body version of peek-a-boo.

"Is he nice?"

"I think so." Rick huffed quietly at her response, but it must have been loud enough for Kate to hear since she was now laughing.

"Are you nice?" he called out, looking passed her legs again.

"I try to be."

"Do you like kids?" Was her son interviewing him? A soft laugh was still heard from Kate while she ruffled Liam's hair at his questioning.

"I do. I even have a daughter, but she's a little older than you."

His face lit up with the news. Silence fell over the apartment as Liam just stood there not saying a word, but after a minute, he moved past Kate towards Rick. Kate turned around to watch, but her expression was frozen now. Rick would think this was exactly the opposite of what she wanted to happen.

"Okay," Liam said and then paused. "Do you like Mommy?"

Rick's eyes shot up to meet Kate's and she mouthed an apology to him.

Her son wasn't shying away from the important questions. It was almost endearing to watch Liam interrogate him. If he could imagine, Rick would assume the boy was already picking up his skills from his mother.

"I think I do," he replied without breaking eye contact with Kate and she beamed at him.

"Good. Mommy doesn't have a lot of friends," Liam said, crawling up on the couch opposite to Rick.

"Um, Liam, I think he's done answering questions."

"What's your name?" Liam asked, staring up at Rick while ignoring his mom's suggestion.

"It is Ri—"

"Dr. Rodgers," Kate corrected, interrupting Rick's introduction. So she was going the formal route…

"You're a doctor? Cool!" Liam's eyes widened and he scooted closer to him.

"It can be."

Kate moved to join them in the living room and grabbed Liam's hand.

"Okay, Sweetheart, it's time for little boys to go back to bed."

"Nemo?" Liam asked again, turning toward his mom with the cutest puppy dog look that Rick had ever seen. Kate sighed, dropping Liam's hand and running hers through her hair. He could tell that she was losing her resolve.

"Kate, I'm okay with whatever you're comfortable with." He didn't want to overstep and invite Liam to watch the movie with them, but he also didn't want Kate to think it wasn't an option. Her eyes moved from Liam to meet Rick's as her lips turned up.

"Okay, Nemo it is."

* * *

><p>The credits were rolling on the movie as Kate moved the popcorn bowl onto the coffee table. Rick had to admit that this wasn't exactly how he thought their first date was going to be, but it was fun. Her son was fun and Kate seemed more at ease with the fact that Liam crashed their evening.<p>

"Sorry about tonight. We can do a first date do over at one point when I can find a sitter," she said, looking back at him. He grinned back at her and shook his head.

"Nothing to apologize for. He's great. I had a good time, Kate."

Rick looked down at Liam passed out against his side and then turned back toward her. Her eyes held a look of awe, but he could still see the hint of concern.

"Not the night I planned."

"Probably not, but it was fun."

She smiled and nodded.

"It was. How many times have you watched this movie? You were reciting the dialogue at points!" she teased. She stood up and stretched before he watched her take the dishes to the sink. He was about to offer to do that for her since she was slightly fumbling with her cast, but then he looked down at Liam and really didn't want to wake him.

"It helps to know what kids like, helps me relate to my patients. Finding Nemo has always been a favorite though—Alexis and I watched it four times when it was in theaters."

"Well I think your patients are lucky to have you. You're great with kids. Liam warmed up to you pretty quick. That's not usually the case." Her voice broke at the end and she turned back to the sink.

"That worries you. I can tell." His words hung in the air and he watched as Kate's shoulders slumped.

After a small span of awkward silence, Kate moved back to the living room and sat down next to the boys. Placing her hand onto Rick's hand that was placed on Liam's back, she squeezed it before moving to card her fingers through Liam's hair.

"It's just—it's not that I don't think you're a great guy and I know you wouldn't intentionally hurt either one of us, but we don't know what will happen between you and me. Our first date and look at him. What if this doesn't work and it implodes?"

"Kate, I understand it's scary for you and I don't want to do or say something to make you regret giving this a try. I really like you, but we don't have the answers. We just have to live with the questions and … find our way."

He always had a way with words which helped in most areas of his life and the soft expression that formed on Kate's face confirmed that his words helped now.

"Easier said than done," she whispered.

"Maybe, but I would like to see you again. Another date—instead of worrying about what could happen, let's just live in the present." He lifted his hand to lace his fingers through Kate's as she was pulling her hand away from Liam. She looked down at their joined hands and smiled.

"So a date with my three year old didn't completely scare you away."

He shook his head.

"Nope. Though you can have him call me Rick. Dr. Rodgers is for my patients…"

Squeezing his hand once more, Kate wiggled her hand free and stood up.

"I'll consider it," she said while scooping up her sleeping son into her arms. "I'll be right back. Let me lay him down."

Tonight with Kate and her son had been refreshing. It was probably the best date he had been on in awhile. Maybe she was afraid of Liam getting too attached to him, but as he watched Kate walked out of the room Rick sighed.

Rick was afraid that he was the one that was already growing attached.

_**TBC**_

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><p><em>Thank you so much for reading! I would love to hear from you! :)<em>


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Thank you all for reading and all the kind words. You guys are truly amazing and appreciated! (Joanna and Janna thanks for all you advice)_

_Jo- thanks for all your beta magic_

_Disclaimer: Castle isn't mine, but all my mistakes are._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Medical Attention<em>**

* * *

><p>Castle's S1 AU Based on a tumblr prompt from anon: Castle's a doctor, a friend of Lanie's. AU Caskett meeting at Lanie's birthday. *Castle Winter Hiatus 2014 Ficathon Entry*<p>

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 5<strong>

Bright colors washed across the room with a variety of child-friendly paintings decorating the space. As far as doctors' offices went, this one was adorable. Looking around the waiting area, the chairs were filled with parents and kids alike. The children looked miserable and the parents had the empty expressions from sleepless nights. She could relate.

Maybe she shouldn't surprise him. He obviously had a full schedule.

Kate stood in the middle of the room with a carrier containing two cups of coffee and she suddenly felt very out of place. It wasn't like she hadn't spent her fair share of time in a pediatrician's office with Liam, but she had never just stopped by to bring a doctor a cup of coffee during cold and flu season.

She looked like some clueless idiot frozen in her spot.

"Excuse me, Miss? Can I help you?"

The woman at the check-in window called out to her breaking her trance.

"Oh—uh, Dr. Rodgers. I wanted to bring him this," she stuttered, as she felt blood rush to her cheeks. This was why she didn't date anymore. She overanalyzed everything to the point where it turned her into a bumbling fool.

"Dr. Rodgers is with a patient at the moment. Was he expecting you?"

"No, um. I just stopped by."

"Okay, I'll let him know you're here. What's your name?"

"Detective Kate Beckett."

Seriously, why couldn't she just say Kate?

"A detective? Is Dr. Rodgers in some sort of trouble?" the woman asked, confusion and concern clouding her tone.

"No!" she yelled and then cleared her throat from her outburst. "Sorry. I mean no, of course not. I'm just a friend. Hence the coffee." She lifted the cup carrier to emphasize her point, but she was just digging herself into a hole.

At work, she could take down the worst of criminals on the streets or in interrogations, yet when it came to explaining dropping off coffee to someone she may or may not be dating? She had lost the ability to communicate.

She was not an airhead. She needed to pull herself together.

"_Okay_, I'll let him know you're here."

"Thank you."

Kate set the coffee cups on the ledge by the sliding glass partition and took a deep breath.

She could do this.

Rick would be surprised that she was here, but she couldn't imagine that he wouldn't be happy about it.

He had seemed interested in her during their movie date, yet work schedules had prevented them from seeing each other for the last week. If it was anyone else, she would've thought Rick was blowing her off, but his casual text messages throughout the week had eased her worries.

Despite the disaster of their first date, Rick Rodgers hadn't run.

"He said you can meet him back in his office. He's just finishing up with a patient. Through this door, turn left and it's the second door on the right."

"Thank you," she said with a polite smile.

* * *

><p>She found his office without any real issues, weaving her way between the coughing and sneezing kids. Noticing some kids about Liam's age, she made a mental note to pick up some extra orange juice to keep his immune system up to par. The last thing she wanted was for him to come down with whatever illness of the week was going around at his preschool.<p>

Rick's office was decently sized while still being cozy and inviting. A gorgeous mahogany desk was the main focal point with a leather desk chair and a leather couch off to the side. Bookshelves lined the walls holding medical journals and novels alike. If he had this large of a book collection at his office, she could only imagine what his home was like.

Good to know they both shared a love of reading.

The space was warm and masculine just like him. Her thoughts fluttered back to their movie date and the soft kiss he'd given her before he left for the night.

She hadn't been this smitten with someone since high school and given the snail's pace of this would be relationship; it was all the more fitting.

She set the coffees on his desk and smiled like a kid in a candy store as she was drawn back toward the shelves. Her fingers traced the spines of the books as she read the titles in his collection; before long she found herself lost in thought. Rick was very well read. Classical literature was heavily prominent as well as a mix of her personal favorite genre of murder mysteries.

"Like what you see?" Rick asked, causing her to jump and turn around.

"Rick! Hi! Yeah—uh you have a spectacular collection." She looked up at him with a nervous laugh.

"Thank you. I've always loved to read. Used to think I'd be a writer when I was a kid," he said with a smile as he walked next to her to lean against the bookshelf.

"What made you change your mind?"

He shrugged and looked at the floor before looking back.

"My mom got sick when I was younger. She had to get her appendix out and had some complications. So needless to say, I spent a lot of time with her in the hospital until she was released. The doctors were so nice and they saved my mom. So I had a bit of hero worship of doctors at an early age."

"That's sweet, Rick." She squeezed his forearm to emphasize and she met his surprised expression with a smile.

"Yeah, and then as I got older I started volunteering in the hospital. They needed help in the children's wing reading to the kids. Seeing all the pediatricians helping the kids and making a difference in their young lives, I knew it was my calling."

"You're pretty inspiring, you know that?" she beamed.

"Not as cool as your job on some days, I'm sure. I have moments now and then where I still think about trying to write a murder-mystery. I can only imagine the stories you could tell me."

She bit down on her lip but couldn't hold her giggle.

"Yeah, I could probably bore you to death with the details of the criminal mind."

"I don't think you could ever bore me," he said flashing her a gorgeous smile and a wink. Trying to prevent him from seeing the blush that she knew was on her skin, she walked over to his desk to pick up the carrier.

"I brought you coffee. Repaying the favor from last week," Kate said, handing him his cup.

"You didn't have to repay it, but I'm glad you did because I got to see you."

Their fingers touched for a few moments longer than necessary until Kate shied away and took a sip of her latte. Rick smiled into his own cup and she held her breath as he took a drink. She had asked Lanie if she knew what kind of coffee he liked, but she didn't have a clue.

Kate had taken a complete shot in the dark and ordered him a cappuccino.

"This is good. Thank you—so now you know why I'm a doctor. Why did you become a detective? You don't seem like the typical cop. No offense."

The one question she hated…

"No, none taken. I just—um things happened. Kind of like you were saying, certain things happen to change the path you thought you'd take as a kid," she stammered. It's not like she wouldn't eventually tell Rick about her mother's murder. This just wasn't the time or the place to open that discussion. She had put all of that behind her since Liam was born. "But that's enough about me."

Rick eyed her for a moment. He had to know that there was more to the story, but he didn't press.

"I have another patient in five minutes so I don't have much longer, I'm afraid."

"It's okay. Besides repaying you with coffee, I _actually_ stopped by to see what you were doing for dinner."

He flashed her a surprised grin in which she met.

"Really? I thought you had to work tonight?"

"I was able to switch with someone at the last minute. So if you're still interested…"

All week during their sporadic calls and texts, they had tried to find another time they were both free. After Rick had initially asked her out for tonight and she had to decline, the opportunity for switching a shift came up. It was like fate was intervening; if she believed it that sort of thing.

"Of course. At your apartment?"

"Actually, I was hoping we could go _out_."

"Out?"

"Yep, without the supervision of a certain three-year old," she teased and poked her tongue between her teeth.

"Well I'd be up for dinner with you, whether he was joining us or not. But I have to admit, the idea of you _alone_? I have just the place—unless you already had a spot in mind."

"No. I didn't think that far ahead. I wanted to first see if you were still interested."

"Of course I'm interested."

She took a sip of her coffee and smiled in relief. Tonight was actually going to happen.

"So, dinner?"

"How does seven o'clock sound?" he suggested.

"Perfect. Does this mysterious perfect place have a dress code?" she asked, trying to keep her tone playful but in reality was concerned.

"You don't need a ball gown if that's what you're worried about. I'm sure you'll look great in whatever you decide."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," she murmured, looking down at her hands.

She was screwed. Her closet needed some serious updating. When she looked back up at him, his expression was odd. He had a sparkle to his eyes like he was planning something.

He cut her thoughts short before she had a chance to question it.

"Anytime, Kate," he said, looking down at his watch. "But now, my two o'clock appointment should be here. I have to go." Rick moved toward the door, but turned around to kiss her cheek. "I'll see you tonight."

* * *

><p>Hours after she left Rick's office, she was standing in a robe and a towel, glaring at her closet.<p>

Not a ball gown.

That left her _entire _wardrobe.

Her entire worthless, in need of a serious makeover, wardrobe.

She groaned into her hands. This was a disaster.

"Mommy? Are you crying?" Liam asked, appearing out of nowhere.

"What? Oh, no—no, no. I'm just trying to figure out what to wear. Mommy's going to dinner with Dr. Ro—with Rick, and you're going to hang out with Steph," she said, rummaging through the hangers.

"Steph?"

"Mmhmm. Remember? She's watched you before. You liked her."

"Okay," he said with a shrug and hopped up on her bed. She was starting to give up any hope of finding something decent to wear when she heard someone knocking on their front door. "I'll get it!" Liam yelled, jumping off the bed but stopped in his tracks when he noticed Kate raising her eyebrow at him.

"I'll get it—" she said before looking down at her current state of undress and rolling her eyes. "In my robe. _Perfect_."

"You look silly."

"Thanks for the compliment, Buddy." Kate padded across her apartment with Liam not far behind. "Who is it?"

"It's me. I have a surprise!" Lanie shouted through the door.

"God, Lanie. I don't have time for—" she said, opening the door. "This. Oh my God. What is that?"

Her friend stood in the hallway with a huge grin on her face and a garment bag.

"Your saving grace. I know you, Kate Beckett. How long have you been staring at your closet?" she teased.

"I—uh. _Shut up_," Kate said, pretending to shut the door in her friend's face. Lanie laughed and pushed her way into the apartment.

"Mmhmm. The robe is cute and all but I don't think it's dinner appropriate," she said, raising her eyebrow.

"Aunt Lanie!" Liam shouted, running over and attaching himself to her leg.

"Hey Rugrat. How was preschool?" Lanie asked, ruffling his hair.

"Good! We painted today."

"Pretty cool, Little Man. Now how about you help me turn your Mom into a beautiful princess?"

"Good idea. She was making sad faces by her clothes," Liam giggled, walking with the adults toward Kate's bedroom.

"As I suspected—" Lanie said, turning to eye Kate.

"Are you two done?" Kate asked. Her son had already learned to talk like she wasn't in the room. This wasn't a good sign for when he was a teenager.

"I try to come over and be helpful. I don't need any of your sass," Lanie said with a laugh. "I mean I'm basically responsible for this entire evening. But I still haven't heard a thank you for introducing you to Rick."

"Thank you, Lanie," Kate grumbled as she rolled her eyes.

"That's all I wanted. I knew you two would be perfect for each other."

She watched as Lanie hung the bag on the door and Liam ran to jump in the middle of the bed. Kate noticed a collection of Hot Wheel cars that mysteriously were thrown around the sheets. Nice to see her clothing freak out left her oblivious to her bed turning into a raceway.

"Lane, this is a date. I'm not marrying the guy."

"_Yet_."

Kate scoffed at her friend and turned to search in her closet for shoe options

"The idea of marriage—totally can't even think about that," she muttered.

"I'm just saying. Rick's a great guy, Kate. You can't keep that wall around your heart because you were burned in the past," Lanie said, propping herself on the corner of the bed to face Kate.

"Will left. He left and he picked his career over me." She didn't care about Will anymore, but the sting of his dismissal was still there.

"Well I can tell you this, Rick is _not_ Will. I would've never set you up with him if he was anything like that. You obviously need some help picking a good guy—"

"I'm not helpless," she defended, turning back to face her friend.

"Oh really? Because you have such a great track record."

This wasn't what she wanted tonight. She was excited about this date. The idea of drudging up the past wouldn't do her any good at all.

"I'm not inept."

"Mommy, what's in-_ept _mean?" Damn, she forgot Liam was sitting here listening to the whole discussion. She was going to emotionally damage him against relationships before he was even old even to know what a relationship was.

"It means not good," Kate explained.

"You're not inept," Liam said with a smile causing Lanie to choke back a laugh. Kate glared at her friend and turned back to her son with a softer expression.

"Babe, why don't you go play with your cars in your room while I finish getting ready with Aunt Lanie?"

"Okay, not inept Mommy," he said, hopping off of the bed.

"He's a parrot, Lanie!" she hissed as soon as he left the room.

"Parrot or not, he's yours."

"And I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world. The only silver lining in _that_ messed up situation."

She turned back to her shoes and found a couple different strappy options.

"Yes, but yet another example for a poor choice in men. What sort of man wouldn't want anything to do with that angel?" Lanie asked, and Kate snorted.

Liam's father.

The epitome of a bad choice.

"He was a bit blindsided," Kate whispered.

"Well most men don't expect for the girl they've been seeing for a couple weeks to tell him she was pregnant."

"Yeah. I don't think Scott could've shut the door on my face any faster," she said with a quiet laugh.

Another in a long line of poor choices over her life, but she was happy he wasn't in her life anymore. She just wished he wanted to be in Liam's life. Her son deserved to have a father.

Kate tried to push those memories away and moved to her bathroom vanity.

"He was an ass that you picked up at a bar when you were on the rebound from Will. What did you expect? You weren't exactly looking for father material at the bar. Long term relationships usually don't come from bar hook-ups," Lanie called over to her. Kate poked her head out of the bathroom and gave her a look.

"I met Rick at a bar, remember?"

"You met Rick at my birthday party which happened to be at a bar. Big difference. I introduced you. Saved you the trouble from trying online dating," she clarified.

"I would've never tried online dating."

"Kate, I was about to sign you up myself!"

God, she needed to change the subject.

"Either way…"

"Either way, Rick is neither Will nor Scott or the other first dates that went nowhere."

Kate walked back into her room and sat next to her friend.

"I hope you're right because I really like him, Lanie."

"I can tell. You've never been this hot and bothered about a date before. When you told me earlier about it, you looked so excited I thought you were going to be sick."

"I did not."

"You did. I thought you were going to pass out in my morgue. That's why I knew I had to come and help. So here," she said, motioning to the garment bag that was hanging on the door.

Kate walked over and unzipped it to reveal a gorgeous soft red cocktail dress. The skirt of the dress was fitted and the top was gathered to one shoulder reminiscent of a Greek goddess.

"Lanie, this is beautiful. Where did you…?"

"Don't worry about that. Just try it on. I'm dying to see what you look like in it!"

She ran her hand against the soft fabric and turned back to her friend while biting on her lower lip to hold back a goofy grin. Turning back to the dress, she eased it off of the hanger and hurried to her bathroom to throw it on.

"Oh wow. Lanie…" The words were jumbled as she looked at herself in the floor length mirror. Taking one last glance in the mirror, she walked out to show her friend.

"Oh, Sweetie! You look great."

"Yeah?"

"_Yeah_. Rick's going to love it."

"You don't think this is too much? I mean he didn't technically tell me how nice of a restaurant this was…"

"Where do you think I got this dress?" Lanie asked as her hand flew to her mouth. Obviously she wasn't supposed to say anything.

"I don't understand."

Lanie groaned.

"Rick said you seem concerned about what to wear tonight and he didn't want you to stress about anything. So—"

"He bought me a dress."

"He found you a gorgeous dress that he thought you'd look amazing in and he was right."

Her date bought her a dress. It sounded insane even thinking it.

"Wow. I've never had someone—isn't this a little overkill for a first date?"

"Are you really going to argue a hot doctor being so interested in you that he wanted to ease your stress by buying you a drop-dead gorgeous dress?" she asked, glaring at her.

"Well no. I guess not. You really think I look amazing? Even with this cast?"

"I wouldn't lie. No one will be looking at the cast. Now finish getting ready so I can see the finished product before I have to leave."

* * *

><p>"Mommy's pretty," Liam announced twenty minutes later when Kate walked into her living room to model her completed look for her best friend and her son.<p>

"Yes, she is. This is what Mommy looks like when she goes out on a date," Lanie said, leaning down to Liam.

"What's a date?" Liam asked.

"_Thanks,_ Lanie," she hissed at her friend while shooting her a glare.

"Hey, maybe if you had one every once in awhile the kid wouldn't be so confused," Lanie joked.

"Lanie!"

"On that note, I have to leave. Kate, you look great. Don't do anything I wouldn't do tonight," Lanie said, standing up to hug her.

"What wouldn't you do?" Liam asked in confusion.

"Don't worry about it, Rugrat," she said, messing with his hair some more.

"Thanks for that," Kate whispered as she hugged her goodbye.

"What good would I be if I didn't get Liam to ask you awkward questions?" she asked with a laugh as she walked to the door.

"You know, you could be a good influence?"

"Now where's the fun in _that_! I want details tomorrow Kate, especially if that dress ends up on the floor!"

"Lanie!" she yelled with a smirk as her friend shut the door behind her.

"My clothes always end up on the floor, Mommy. It's okay," Liam said with an innocent tone.

"Yes they do, Babe. Even though you have a hamper right next to your closet," Kate said, smiling.

She was so lucky that Liam didn't understand most conversations that adults had. People really needed to filter themselves more. She couldn't imagine the stories his preschool teachers heard from him…

"Ready to go?"

"Wait! Let me go get Hulk. Steph will like Hulk."

"Okay, but we need to get your coat on and leave," she called after him as he ran off to his room. Picking up her small black clutch from the end table, she reached inside for her phone to check the time. The screen was already lit up from a text message.

'_I'm sorry Ms. Beckett. I can't watch Liam tonight. I think I have the flu.'_

Her heart sank.

There went her perfect evening.

She had never been so disappointed by a sitter cancelling before, but then again she had never had a man worry so much about every detail of a date.

"Mommy? Are you sad?" Liam asked from the hall. She quickly looked up at him and smiled.

"No—no. Liam, I'm fine."

"Okay, because you look pretty. You can't be sad," he said, walking over to her with his Hulk action figure in his hand. Setting the clutch onto the counter, Kate leaned over and pulled Liam into her arms.

"Thanks, Baby. I don't think I could ever be sad with you around," she whispered onto his skin, kissing his cheek and holding him tight.

She didn't want him to ever think he was the cause of her unhappiness. Liam was her world. He had changed her life in so many ways for the better. She'd stopped obsessing over her mom's murder and realized she had a more important life to worry about. Someone who depended on her, someone who needed her.

Yet being a single mom, a night like tonight would've been nice, but it reminded her why she hadn't bothered dating recently.

And now, after all his trouble, she had to break the news to Rick.

Kate set Liam onto the couch and went to call Rick to explain.

"Hello?"

"Hey," she whispered, unable to hide her disappointment in her voice.

"Kate, what's wrong?"

She paused and took a breath.

"I'm really sorry. I know you planned tonight to be amazing and the dress is gorgeous. You thought of everything, but I have to cancel." She raced through the words because even as she said them, her heart sank a little further.

"What? Why?"

"My sitter cancelled and from the dress that Lanie brought over, I'm going to guess that the restaurant you picked out isn't child friendly," she said with a half-hearted joke, but he chuckled through the phone more than seemed necessary.

"That's it? Kate, I wanted our night to be perfect—" he said with what sounded like a smile.

"I know and I'm sorry I'm ruining it—" He was being too nice to her. He should be irritated.

"No, you're not. Like I said, I wanted our night to be perfect so I planned ahead for what could go wrong."

"You planned for my sitter to cancel?"

"I found a backup in case it happened, yes," Rick said with another laugh.

"Is there anything you didn't think of?"

"I don't think I've planned for a zombie apocalypse so let's hope that doesn't happen tonight," he teased. "Just bring him with you to the loft. I've got it covered."

"Rick—" He was going through too much trouble. All to take her out on a date? She didn't deserve it.

"Trust me, Kate."

The words repeated in her head as she realized the terrifying implication of the statement.

Trust him?

She barely knew him.

And yet, she did.

* * *

><p><em><strong>TBC<strong>_

_Thank you so much for reading! I would love to hear what you think! :)_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Thanks to you all. You continue to floor me with your support of this story! (Joanna and Janna- thanks for always being lovely)_

_Jo- thanks for the beta and helping me sprint to the finish of this chapter._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or any of its dialogue, but all mistakes are mine._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Medical Attention<em>**

* * *

><p>Castle's S1 AU Based on a tumblr prompt from anon: Castle's a doctor, a friend of Lanie's. AU Caskett meeting at Lanie's birthday. *Castle Winter Hiatus 2014 Ficathon Entry*<p>

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

The cab pulled up to the building and she helped Liam out of the car before she looked up in awe. She had never been to Rick's place so she had to double check the address from his text message.

So this was where Rick lived.

Squeezing Liam's hand for reassurance, she walked into the building and was greeted by the doorman.

"Can I help you, Miss?" The tall man appeared to be in his sixties with a full head of gray hair and had a welcoming presence about him.

"We're here to see Richard Rodgers."

"Ah yes. Dr. Rodgers said he was expecting visitors. He's on the top floor," he said with a smile.

"Thank God for elevators," Kate said with a nervous laugh.

_Wow._

She had assumed that he made good money as a doctor, but this place was stunning.

"Rick lives here?" Liam asked looking around as they got off of the elevator.

"Guess so."

"It's cool."

"Mmmhmm," she said, smiling down at her son. She looked around the hall to find his door. With one last breath of confidence, she took off her leather jacket, smoothed down her dress, and straightened her hair.

She felt like a girl on prom night.

* * *

><p>Just when he had started to get worried that Kate had gotten lost, he heard a knock at his front door. He glanced at himself one last time in the mirror to make sure he looked okay.<p>

Alexis had helped him pick out a charcoal suit and a crisp white shirt; a nice combination that wouldn't clash with Kate's dress but also avoided looking like they were prom dates from the eighties.

Pulling open the door, he had to remind himself to close his mouth because he was pretty sure his jaw fell when he saw Kate.

Beautiful wasn't strong enough.

Gorgeous was too cliché.

No, Kate Beckett, in that dress was extraordinary.

She flashed him a smile and hesitated at the door before he had realized that he was still standing there staring at her.

"Hi, come in please," he said, trying to recover from his awkwardness.

"Thanks. This place is—wow, Rick. It's great," she beamed, walking into his loft with her son trailing behind.

"Hey Liam. How's it going?"

"Hi Dr—" he started, but looked at his mom and continued. "I mean Rick. Hi Rick."

Liam looked a little nervous in the new surroundings and he kept eyeing Kate to make sure she was still there. It was time to bring in the reinforcements before it was too late.

"Kate, just give me one second and we can be on our way." He motioned with his hand and then raced upstairs to get his daughter. Poking his head inside Alexis' room, he almost ran into her. "Hey—oh. I'm sorry."

"I heard the door. Figured you'd want me down there."

Rick smiled at his daughter and nodded.

"Just a warning though, he looks a little unsure. Are you sure you're okay with doing this?"

"Dad, I wouldn't have agreed if I wasn't. You seem excited about this one and from what you described—she seems like she could be good for you. I want to do anything I can to help." Alex flashed him a supportive smile and leaned over to wrap her arms around his side.

"Thanks, Pumpkin," he said, kissing her forehead as they turned to walk back to where Kate and Liam were standing.

"Kate? Liam? I'd like you to meet my daughter, Alexis."

"Alexis! Hi, it's nice to meet you," Kate said, smiling and reaching for her outstretched hand.

"It's nice to meet you, too. My dad has talked a lot about you—actually about both of you," Alexis said, bending over to talk to Liam. "You must be Liam. My dad told me that you really like Finding Nemo."

"I love Nemo!" Kate's son jumped up and down in excitement.

"I love it, too. My dad has a big movie screen in his office—do you want to hang out with me and watch a movie and eat pizza?"

"Mommy, can I?" Liam asked, turning to Kate. She smiled at him and then looked back up at Rick with a look of astonishment.

His plan had worked.

"Of course, Babe. Rick and I are just going to dinner and we'll be back a little later. You go have fun with Alexis," she said, smoothing down his hair and kissing his cheek.

"Can we have popcorn, too?" Liam asked, turning back toward Alexis.

"Sure, why not? We can let the grown-ups be boring and we can stay here and have a movie party."

"Awesome! Bye Mommy!" Liam said, giving Kate a quick hug before he ran over to stand by Alexis.

Rick smiled at his daughter and mouthed the words 'thank you' to her before turning his attention to his date for the evening.

He was finally going on a date with Kate Beckett.

It had only been two weeks since they had met, but the connection he felt with this woman was undeniable. There was no doubt in his mind that this could be something special, but he didn't want to scare her off with his optimism.

He believed in faith and soul mates and love at first sight.

Even after being burned so badly by Meredith and another close call nearly marrying a woman named Gina who his friend had set him up with - both were disasters in the end - didn't stop him from wanting more.

He believed that he could find true happiness with someone.

After helping Kate into her jacket, he placed a hand on the small of her back and led her out of the apartment toward a waiting town car. A light dusting of snow had fallen on the street since he'd been outside earlier this evening.

It was beautiful.

And the way her eyes sparkled as she turned to him with the smile he'd been dreaming about…

It was almost perfect.

* * *

><p>The atmosphere was buzzing inside Drago. This was the hottest spot in town and basically unless you promised your unborn child to the owner there was no way you were getting a table.<p>

Unless you were Rick.

The owner had promised him a dinner reservation after Rick made a house call a couple months ago for the owner's newborn daughter. He had never worried about using the reservation until the opportunity to take Kate to dinner presented itself.

"Wow. Rick. How did you manage this?" The shock rang in every syllable of her words as the smile on her face stretched bigger than he had ever seen it.

"A magician never reveals his secrets," he said as he wiggled his eyebrows.

"You went through so much trouble—just to go on a date with me. Why?" she asked, her voice soft and unsure. He placed his palm against her cheek and smiled.

"Because it's you."

Her stunned expression said it all. It was obvious no one had ever treated her like this and he was lucky to have the honor of having the opportunity. Kate opened her mouth to respond, but they were interrupted by the hostess letting them know that their table was available.

After sitting, hearing about the chef's specials and ordering a bottle of wine, there was a moment that he couldn't even think of anything to say and he panicked. But luckily Kate found her voice.

"I can't believe you got me a dress, Rick," she said.

"I didn't want you to have to worry about anything. I've only known you for a couple weeks, but I can sense that you don't get many opportunities to let your hair down. I wanted that for you."

"You're pretty unbelievable, you know that?" The grin that she held on her face only grew larger.

"I don't know about that," he said, laughing. "I had the woman at Nordstrom's show me a couple options and as soon as she showed me that one I knew I had to see you in it. And you exceeded all expectations."

Her expression changed in that moment. She seemed to relax.

"I'm glad I didn't disappoint! You know, you don't look so bad yourself, Rick," she said, smirking into her glass of wine. He chuckled in response. "So is this the typical restaurant that Dr. Rodgers takes all of his first dates?"

"Well typically my first dates involve watch Finding Nemo on a couch," he said, holding back a laugh.

"_Funny."_

"And no, this wouldn't be my typical first date. Not that I date all that often to begin with," he said, sipping his wine and glancing at the menu.

"I see. So hot pediatricians don't have woman lined up at their door?" Kate asked with a giggle.

"Hardly. It's been a couple months since my last date so I think that's why Lanie wanted us to meet."

"In a bit of a dating slump?"

He couldn't help but shrug; if he was honest with himself it was a combination of slump and lack of desire to date the same type of woman over and over.

"You could say that. How about you? Obviously I know movie watching with Liam isn't top pick."

Though he wouldn't trade that night for anything; it had been one of the best nights he had in a long time.

"No—no it's not. You're actually the first guy I've allowed to meet him," she said, taking a long sip from her glass.

"Like ever? Since his father?" Rick asked trying to hide the shock, but failing miserably.

"_Including_ his father. They've never met." Kate's eyes met his for a moment and it didn't take long to feel the pain behind her words.

"Your ex never met his son?"

He couldn't imagine never wanting anything to do with Alexis.

"_Nope_."

Kate bit her lip to hold back. He could tell she was upset and he felt awful for bringing it up.

"I don't—"

"Um, his father—" She started to explained but he shook his head.

"I'm sorry. This is the worst date conversation." It was obvious that she didn't want to talk about it. The fact that his own father had never been a presence in his life meant that he felt for Kate's situation more than she knew.

"It's okay, Rick. You seem like a good man and I'm sure you're a great father. But not everyone is—" Kate looked down at her glass, playing with the stem.

"You don't have to explain it to me, Kate. I shouldn't have said anything."

This topic needed to end because he could see her mood plummeting the longer it continued.

"I broke my own rules by letting you meet him," she murmured into her glass, but then lifted her eyes to meet his. "Rules I even told you about when we met—yet I don't regret it." She shook her head and gave him a small smile.

"Kate—"

"I've been burned in the past. _Too many times_. Don't add to my list." Her tone was still off. She was trying to joke with him, but the words fell flat.

"My ex-wife cheated on me with her director and I caught her," Rick blurted out.

"Oh God."

Well that was one way to change the subject.

"Yeah, so trust me. I have a list too. But—you seem different."

"You do too," she said as a genuine smile crept back to her face.

"Here's to different," Rick said, raising his glass to toast.

"Here's to different."

* * *

><p>She stared at the man sitting across the table from her. Tonight had been perfect. Everything she could have wanted in a date. Apart from the rocky start and awkward topic of exes, things could not have gone better.<p>

If there had been any question before, there was no doubt in her mind now; she was falling for Rick.

_Fast._

She couldn't recall the last time, if ever, she had been so enamored by a man.

Things were natural between them.

Easy.

Yet anything but boring. She didn't think spending time with Rick could ever be boring.

He was electric. As embarrassing as it sounded, she almost lost herself in his eyes and didn't hear when he asked her a question.

"I'm sorry. What did you say?" She could feel blood rush to her cheeks.

"Am I boring you?" he asked with a nervous laugh.

"What? No—no! I'm sorry. I promise you have my full attention. Scouts honor!" She gave him a wink and held up a couple fingers.

"You were never a girl scout, were you?" Rick asked, laughing louder.

She hid her head in her hands for a second and looked back up.

"Nope, never. What gave it away?"

Reaching for her glass, she drank the rest of the red liquid. That was amazing wine.

"Alexis was a scout for a couple years and I spent hours helping her. You're holding up the wrong fingers…"

"Damn. So close. Though, I'm _totally_ listening but I probably should stop drinking the wine." She giggled and pointed at her empty glass.

"It's good, huh?"

"It's great. I love red."

"I'll have to keep that in mind for next time."

He grinned at her and she felt her skin buzz. She was in trouble.

"Next time?"

"I was hoping there would be," he said, finishing his glass as well.

"I'd like that."

"Before, I was asking if you wanted to get dessert, but how about we skip that. I have another idea," Rick suggested, reaching across the table to squeeze her hand.

"Well I've trusted your plan for the entire evening so far. So what the hell!" Kate giggled and pulled her bottom lip through her teeth. It was her nervous habit, but for now she was trying to prevent herself from looking like a smitten teenager. "Wait."

"You want dessert now?"

"No. I'm still okay with whatever you're thinking, but can you call Alexis and make sure Liam hasn't tied her to a chair?"

"Little dramatic?" He looked at her and laughed.

"He's pretty resourceful," she teased.

Rick shook his head and pulled his phone out of his pocket to call his daughter. "Liam's adorable."

"You've only seen that side. Alexis could turn her back for a second and he would be on the kitchen counter eating a half gallon of chocolate ice cream."

"Did that—?" Rick started to ask and she nodded.

"Mmhmm. It happened."

"But he's so sweet," Rick protested and she was helpless to stop her grin; the man she was interested in cared about her son.

"That's how he gets you! But he's a trouble maker. He's more like me than I would've expected. So I'm not surprised by anything anymore."

"You sit on your counter eating chocolate ice cream?"

"Only on bad days," she said, laughing and poking her tongue between her teeth.

* * *

><p>Alexis told him that Liam was doing just fine and that they could take all the time they needed, although he could hear Liam reciting movie dialogue loudly in the background. She admitted to bribing him with a piece of chocolate at one point to sit still during the movie, but Rick would just keep that piece of information to himself. However from the sound of it, chocolate seemed to be the norm with Liam.<p>

"Shall we?" he asked, extending his arm to Kate.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Not until we get there."

He watched the snow flurry from the car window. This was probably an insane idea in a New York winter. It was a risky idea, but as the car pulled up to the curb there was no turning back.

"I'll be right back."

"Rick?"

He heard her question as he ran into his favorite coffee place to pick up two hot chocolates.

When he opened the door to help her out of the car and she gave him a confused look as he handed her a cup.

"Are you warm enough?" he asked, looking down at her lack of clothing.

"For now, but I don't know how long before the frostbite kicks in," she joked.

"Oh, you have time."

"Thanks, Doctor."

"Oooh, I like when you call me that," he said, raising an eyebrow. Kate looked at him and winked.

"Good to know, but what's going on?"she asked.

"What's going on is, I really like you and I don't want the night to end. I didn't want to go with clichéd or stereotypical activities. So—"

"So you want our date to end with me getting frostbite or hypothermia?" she asked, her tone heavily sarcastic.

"Preferably not. I just figured we could walk around and people watch. You're now equipped with hot chocolate and it's not snowing that much."

"True, but you're forgetting that I'm wearing a _very_ tiny dress under my jacket."

Mentioning the dress again pretty much gave him permission to check her out again. Looking back up at her, he winked.

"Oh, trust me. I'm not going to get the image of you in that dress out of my mind for quite some time."

"Pervert!" she scoffed, pushing his arm in mock offense. He gave her a soft laugh and pulled his arm around her. It felt nice to have her close.

"But seriously, we can just go into the coffee shop if you'd rather just sit there and talk."

Kate met his eyes and smiled.

"Rick, it's not that bad out and I had enough wine to keep me warm for a bit. Lead the way."

* * *

><p>If she was being completely honest with him, the idea of taking a walk while it lightly snowed near Rockefeller Center with hot chocolate in hand? It was romantic.<p>

Which led to the question, if he was such a perfect date, how was he still single?

"You're thinking about something. Did you change your mind? The coffee shop is right around the corner," he said, after they started walking.

"I was just thinking about—tonight has been basically perfect," she said with a quiet sigh.

"So I haven't bored you to death and completely turned you off to the idea of dating?"

She shook her head against his body.

"The exact opposite actually. I'm having a really great time, Rick. It's kind of terrifying," Kate admitted, stopping for a moment to look up at him.

"Having a great time is terrifying?"

"In my experience, yes. It usually means things are too good to be true."

"Well, I'm here and I'm not going anywhere unless you ask me too. And you're right, maybe it is a little terrifying," he said, pulling her back to him.

"Glad to know I'm right. I usually am," she teased and turning her face into his shoulder.

"Uh huh. I guess we'll have to see about that."

They walked along the streets, joking and laughing with each other. Teasing one another soon turned into a game of people watching and creating back stories for the strangers they passed.

She was having fun even though the wind was chilling her even more, now that they had finished their hot chocolates.

Before long, she was starting to lose feeling in her toes.

"You stopped walking."

"I stopped walking," she repeated with a smirk.

He eyed her for a second before she made the split second decision to do something she wanted to do all night. Before she could over think it, she turned into his body and pulled his lips down to hers.

The way his mouth molded to hers heated her body in ways that helped her forget. Forget about the fact that she was freezing. Forget about the fact that she was standing in the middle of a crowded sidewalk.

What mattered was she was kissing Rick and pressing into him. She didn't want it to end.

She felt dizzy.

After pulling away for a necessary breath of air, Kate touched her lips in shock with the taste of his kiss still on her tongue. Craving it once again, she leaned back into his body and feathered another kiss onto his lips, before she whispered onto his skin.

"Take me home, Rick."

* * *

><p>Opening the door to his loft, Rick was surprised to be met with silence. After checking in with Alexis earlier, he assumed that Liam would've still been going strong and yet there was no sign of either of them.<p>

"Looks like Liam found your chocolate stash," Kate observed, pointing out the trail of foil wrappers littering the space.

"I'm sorry about that. I think Alexis may have been bribing him with candy."

"Or Liam found it himself. He has a sixth sense about finding chocolate. Can sniff it out a mile away," she said, giggling and picking up the mess.

"You don't have to do that. You're a guest."

"But he's my kid. It's not your job to pick up after him."

He moved next to her and helped pick up the mess as she huffed at him.

"I'm not going to let you clean it up while I just stand here," he said, smirking as they threw away the trash and looking in the refrigerator. "Lucky for us, he didn't eat all of the good stuff." Kate raised an eyebrow at him and moved to see what he had. "My favorite chocolate. I special order it from Europe."

"Fancy doctor needs his fancy chocolate," she teased.

"If you're not careful, I won't share."

"I'm sorry. Handsome doctor needs his fancy chocolate?" she giggled.

"I prefer ruggedly handsome doctor, but I'll let that slide," he chuckled as he brought the chocolate to the countertop.

"And here I thought you didn't have an ego—"

"Try it and tell me that isn't the best chocolate you've had," Rick said, placing the chocolate in her mouth and then eating a piece himself.

A quiet moan escaped her mouth, followed by an adorable blush painting her cheeks.

"You win. I apologize for doubting you."

"That sound you made was all the apology I needed," he said, with a wink.

"Still worried about that ego."

"Oh really?"

"Mmhmm. You seem to like your ruggedly handsome self a lot."

"You know who I like more?" Rick asked as he met her eyes. "You."

He leaned forward and captured her mouth with the same intensity as the kiss on the street. Only this time, she was warm in his arms and tasted like rich chocolate. Pressing her up against the counter, he lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist, a dizzy haze of hands and mouths more passionate then he could've hoped for.

"Darling? You're home—oh!" Martha said, walking into the kitchen as Kate pushed him off of her and hopped onto her feet.

"Mother, I didn't realize you were home," Rick replied through clenched teeth.

"I didn't know you lived with your mom!" Kate hissed from behind him.

"Well yes, I came home earlier from my party than I had planned. I didn't _interrupt_ anything, did I?"

Rick glared at his mother for a second before turning back to his mortified date.

"Kate Beckett, this is my mother, Martha Rodgers."

"Oh Katherine, it's so nice to finally meet you! Richard has been talking about you for days!" She beamed while Kate brought her bottom lip between her teeth.

He had already picked up on her nervous habit and while she might be doing it without realizing it, it was beyond sexy.

"Nice to meet you Ms. Rodgers."

"Oh please! Call me Martha."

"Okay. Nice to meet you, Martha."

"Well I'll leave you two kids to get back to whatever I walked in on. Ta Ta," she said with a smirk and a little wave before walking upstairs for the night.

"Well that was—"

Embarrassing.

"I'm sorry. I forgot to mention that my mother lives with us. Long story short, she has bad luck with men."

"I can relate—present company excluded," she said, cupping his cheek in her palm. "Not the way I imagined meeting your mom, but it was probably a good thing she stopped us. And I'm glad it was her instead of Liam."

"Or Alexis."

"Right. So we've obviously confirmed that we have great chemistry." She traced her hand down his arm and then tilted back to look in his eyes.

"Excellent."

"But—"

"There's a but?" he asked, confusion laced in his words.

"I just need some time. Things are moving really fast and it's amazing. We just need to—" Her voice lost all strength and she turned to look at her feet.

"Hey, hey. I don't want to do anything you're not comfortable with yet. I like you too much for that."

He could wait for her. There wasn't any reason they had to jump in bed tonight. Hell, he would've never expected to have the chance to make out with her. Though he wouldn't object to doing that again soon.

"You may be the perfect man."

"Perfection is in the eye of the beholder," he said with a short chuckle as she leaned up to give him a peck on the cheek.

"Let's go find our kids."

He reached for her hand and led her through the loft back toward his office.

Sure enough, his little girl and her son were passed out on the couch, curled up against one another. Rick turned to look at Kate and she had the same glassy-eyed expression that he was sure he had.

Maybe it was all kinds of perfect.

* * *

><p><em><strong>TBC<strong>_

_Thank you so much for reading! I would love hear what you think :)_

_Castle Winter Ficathon Word Count- accomplished! (but the story is not complete)_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Everyone that supported me and who said lovely words this past week. You kept me writing. Thank you. _

_Jo- thanks for the extra encouragement I needed with this one._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or any of its dialogue, but all mistakes are mine._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Medical Attention<em>**

* * *

><p>Castle's S1 AU Based on a tumblr prompt from anon: Castle's a doctor, a friend of Lanie's. AU Caskett meeting at Lanie's birthday. *Castle Winter Hiatus 2014 Ficathon Entry*<p>

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 7<strong>

_Knock, knock._

_Knock, knock._

The pounding in her head had become so loud that she could swear the walls were rattling. Kate threw another pillow over her face and burrowed further into her blanket.

_Knock, knock._

"Kate?"

Damn. The pounding wasn't in her head; it was someone at the door.

Rick.

She rolled off of her couch and trudged toward the incessant noise. For a brief second before opening the door, her brain registered that she looked like a disaster but she was too miserable to care.

"Hey," she croaked, attempting a smile.

"Kate? Are you okay?"

They hadn't really talked in the last couple days. She wasn't deliberately avoiding him, but she hated asking people for help when she was sick.

Since their first date a couple weeks ago, they had seen each other on a fairly regular basis, either hanging out with Liam or managing to find a couple hours to just themselves. They were still taking things slowly, but she enjoyed being around him.

Enjoyed being around him when she was _healthy_. He'd had to basically take her kicking and screaming to get her cast off of her wrist, because she told him there wasn't any need for him to be there. Yet, he'd insisted, still pretending that he was somehow her doctor.

She shook herself out of her thoughts and looked into Rick's concerned eyes. Motioning him inside, Kate flopped herself back onto the couch.

"I know. I'm sorry, Rick. I've been sick."

"You texted me that you were fine, but just busy with work," he said, his tone more understanding than she deserved.

"I didn't want you to worry."

He walked over to sit down and she leaned into his body.

"Well I'm not worried now, I'm just confused. Why wouldn't you just tell me you were sick?"

Kate shrugged and picked at the stray thread on her sweatshirt.

"Because I didn't want to bother you. I know you have your fair share of sick kids on a daily basis."

"And you thought I wouldn't want to take care of my sick girlfriend?"

She sat up straight as her eyes widened.

"Girlfriend?"

"Really? You want to discuss titles while you have saltine crackers crushed up in your hair and snot on your sweatshirt?" he asked with a smirk.

"Low blow, Dr. Rodgers. Low blow," she said with a laugh that turned into a coughing fit. "I appreciate you stopping by Rick, but I really just want to go back to sleep before Liam wakes up from his nap."

Now he was the one who looked at her with a stunned expression.

"You're telling me that you've been taking care of him this entire time you've been sick?"

Kate nodded, avoiding his eyes.

"Yeah, my dad is away at a conference. Luckily Liam's been an angel…"

Rick smoothed down her hair and tucked it behind her ears before she stood up and paced toward the kitchen. Her throat was on fire, maybe some water would help.

"Kate, let me watch him. Go to bed. Get some decent rest and don't worry—"

No. It was one thing for Rick to be around Liam when they were eating pizza or having movie night. It was another thing for them to be spending one-on-one time.

"Rick, I can't ask you to watch him," she said, shaking her head. She didn't want to upset him, but this wasn't his responsibility. Liam depended on her and her alone.

"You're not asking me. I'm insisting. Now go."

Kate drank a small sip of water and tried to hold back the wince from the pain.

"Really. I'm fine," she insisted, but he moved closer to her.

"Kate, you're burning up. You're clearly not fine. Please let me take care of you—let me help."

His thumb traced the sensitive skin underneath her tired eyes as his hand cupped her cheek. All of the fight drained from her frail frame and she sank into his arms.

"Maybe a little nap—" she said between yawns

"It will make you feel better. Have you taken anything for your fever?"

"No, not yet. I was hoping to sleep it off when you showed up."

Her voice was barely audible as she just muttered into the fabric of his shirt. His scent was comforting. God, what was this man doing to her. She never let anyone take care of her, but now she was cuddling up into his arms and agreeing to let him take care of her.

This was the recipe for disaster.

"You said you've been sick for a couple days."

He rubbed his strong hands along the column of her spine, relaxing and comforting at the same time. There was really no use trying to rationalize her lack of care for her own well being to a doctor. Rick saw right through it.

"Well—"

Kate tried to laugh it off, but she found herself being led back to her room.

"Get in bed and I'll bring you something to take from your medicine cabinet."

She smirked as she pulled back the blankets and crawled into bed.

"This wasn't how I pictured you getting me in bed for the first time, Rick."

"At least your sense of humor is still intact," he whispered, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "Now get some rest."

The feeling of his warmth against her skin eased her concerns. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing. Rick wasn't a stranger to Liam. They would be fine if she just rested her eyes.

"Mmmhmm… Maybe… a little… nap…"

* * *

><p>Rick walked out of Kate's room and quietly clicked her door shut. He had known that she was self sufficient and stubborn, but he hadn't realized she was <em>this<em> stubborn.

It was horribly apparent that she had been feeling miserable for a while, yet, she hadn't mentioned being sick at all when they talked last. The only reason he had shown up tonight was due to the fact that her last text message to him was utterly incoherent.

A few weeks had passed since their first official date, and as Kate had suggested, things were moving very slowly. He didn't mind, really he didn't. Moving slowly with Kate Beckett was better than any fly-by-night-jumping-into-it-head-first sort of relationship with anybody else.

While the relationship might be moving slowing, his feelings most definitely were not. He was falling for her fast, and on the days that they were both too busy to speak he had found himself missing her, longing to hear her voice.

He knew it was crazy to be so enamored with a woman after protecting his heart for so long, but logic wasn't a factor in matters of the heart.

Kate Beckett was special.

Stubborn as hell, but special.

After he could hear her breathing even out from outside of her room, he knew she had finally given into exhaustion and fell asleep. Gathering up painkillers and cold medicine from her medicine cabinet, he brought all the supplies to her kitchen counter to look for a tray and a bottle of water. He didn't want to wake her right away, but she would need to take something sooner rather than later.

"Mommy?"

Oh.

It looked like someone had woken up from his nap. Rick turned around to smile at Kate's son.

"Hey, Liam."

"Rick?" he asked, sleep still present in his voice.

The boy looked up at him as tears filled his eyes. Rick assessed his reaction for a moment and watched as Liam wiped his eyes.

"Is it okay that I hang out with you while your mom gets some sleep?"

Liam's glassy expression washed away and he nodded.

"She's sick," he sniffed, walking over to Rick's side. He nodded and bent down to be eye level with Liam.

"Yeah she is. So we're going to let her sleep for a little bit," he explained.

"Okay. Can we play?" Liam asked, reaching for Rick's hand to lead him to his bedroom.

"Of course! We can play with your cars or Legos. Whatever you'd like to do."

Rick spent every day surrounded by children. Yet, with Liam, he was nervous. If Liam didn't trust him, the possibility of things ever working out with Kate would be impossible. Not even that, Rick had so much fun being around him, that he was growing quite attached.

"But you came over to see my mom?" Liam asked, as he started digging through the toys in his room.

"I did at first," Rick said, sitting down on the floor and pulling out the box of Legos. He _loved_ Legos. Perhaps his love of toys was why he got along with children so well. Liam noticed that he was started to build and he soon joined Rick on the project.

"We can build a castle!" Liam shouted.

"Sure, Buddy. We can build a castle."

Things were easy, until…

"Do you really like my mom?" Liam asked, wide-eyed.

Questions.

Liam loved to interrogate. Rick smiled at the little boy and ruffled his hair a bit.

"I do."

"You're not going to leave?" Liam's voice started to get quieter, staring at the bricks instead of at Rick.

"Um—I don't plan on it. Not unless you or your mom asks me to." He didn't want to say something that would give Liam the wrong impression and with Kate nowhere to be seen. Rick wanted to be careful not to misspeak. Liam was a smart kid, but Rick could tell there was something that was bothering him.

He took a moment to work on building the castle, but then stopped to focus all of his attention on Rick.

"Are you going to be my daddy?"

Rick's jaw dropped.

* * *

><p>Kate rolled over in her mound of blankets, still groggy. She remembered Rick waking her up at one point to make her take some medicine, but she couldn't remember when that had been. All sense of time was lost, but the grumbling in her stomach let her know that it had been hours.<p>

She still felt under the weather, but with the combination of the medicine and rest Kate at least was able to sit up without feeling like she would topple over. Pushing the rest of the covers off of her body, she was about to venture out of her room to find Rick and Liam when she found the note on her nightstand that he had left her.

'_If you're feeling better, steam from a shower will help with your congestion.'_

She smiled down at the note and listened for a moment.

Silence.

Well if Liam wasn't screaming, a hot shower did sound amazing and if a _doctor_ said it would help, who was she to argue?

* * *

><p>Rick was a genius.<p>

The shower was heavenly. After throwing on a clean pair of leggings and simple white v-neck t-shirt, she was finally feeling like herself again.

Now it was time to find the boys.

The family room and kitchen were both deserted but she glanced at the clock on the stove and was shocked to find it was already ten o'clock at night. Rick had been here for over five hours. She felt a small pang of guilt at wasting time showering while he was watching her son. He shouldn't have had to be here this long.

A light from Liam's room lit up the already dark apartment and she could hear her son's giggles fill the silence.

At least he was happy.

"Kate? Hi! I know it's late, but your little boy seems to have inherited his stubbornness from his mother."

Rick looked panicked when Kate walked into the room. He didn't understand Liam's adversity to having a usual bedtime.

She smirked at him as she moved farther into the room, bending over to kiss Liam on the top of his head before wrapping herself into Rick's body. He stiffened in response to her body's closeness, but relaxed when she laid her head against his shoulder. Kate hadn't been this overly affectionate before around Liam, but maybe she was being too cautious.

"I don't care." Brushing a kiss onto the crease of his neck, she closed her eyes as his scent wrapped around her. "Thank you."

His cool hand pressed against her forehead as her eyes fluttered open.

"Feels like your fever broke."

"Mommy, we had fun!" Liam shouted, wrapping his tiny arms around her body crawling into her lap with poor Rick at the bottom of the pile up.

"Mmhmm. I'm glad you did." She turned to look up at Rick and whispered into his embrace. "I feel a lot better."

Liam jumped out of her lap and ran back toward his toys.

"And here you were trying to push me away," he teased.

"He's a handful, Rick," she muttered as she watched Liam pretend that the Hulk was attacking Spiderman.

They both laughed at his superhero show down.

"So I've witnessed on several occasions, including tonight. You missed his marching and chanting from just a couple minutes ago."

"You were chanting?" she called over to Liam.

Her son nodded without looking up from his toys.

"Uh huh. Rick told me it was bedtime."

"And he was right—"

"So I told him I wasn't tired," Liam explained and she turned back to Rick as he looked slightly defeated by the three year old.

"Why do I feel like there's more to the story? Show me what you did when Rick said it was time for bed."

He dropped his toys and stomped in a circle with his arms folded.

"Not tired! Not tired! Not tired!" he pouted as he reenacted his temper tantrum. She bit her bottom lip to hold in her laugh, this was exactly what she thought had happened.

His nightly routine.

It was nice to know that Liam behaved the same for Rick as he would have for her.

"You're not mad?" Rick asked, as they watched Liam turned back to his action figures.

"Mad? At you? Of course not! It's nice to know that you're not perfect. I would've been jealous if he reacted differently."

"Far from perfect. But he's still not in bed."

"Not the first time and it won't be the last," Kate explained, scooting out of his lap before she fell back asleep from his warmth.

"I also promised I'd read to him."

She laughed and raised her eyebrow at him.

"I love story time," Kate whispered and kissed his check before standing up to scoop Liam into his bed. "Bedtime for real this time."

"But Mommy!"

"Rick will read us a story and then you're going to sleep," Kate said, pulling the covers over her baby boy.

"I'm reading you a story too?"

"Sure," she said with a smirk. "I love bedtime stories."

* * *

><p>Liam actually fell asleep during the first half of the book.<p>

That _never_ happened, but she couldn't say she blamed him; Rick's deep hypnotic tone relaxed even her. She could listen to Rick read out loud for hours, strong and soothing.

Feathering a kiss against his hair, Kate tucked Liam in tighter under his blankets before she slid her hand into Rick's and led him out of the room.

"I don't think I can thank you enough. I actually feel human again."

"You don't need to thank me, Kate. I'm glad I was able to help you. You know, you can ask me to help more often," he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as they walked back into the family room.

"I'm not dating you so you can watch my son."

His help today was more than appreciated, but she couldn't get used to this. This wasn't his responsibility.

"No, but you are dating me. And I know that you and Liam are a package deal," he said, squeezing her tighter.

She was so touched by his devotion today. They had only been together for a month.

One month and she already feared about the idea of being without him. In the back of her mind, she had a nagging feeling this was too much too soon. Even though they were taking things slowly, she was growing emotionally attached and so was Liam.

Yet, when she watched Rick read to Liam, her heart fluttered faster than ever before.

"You are adorable with him, you know? He's never had someone like you in his life," she admitted.

"He was fun today, although he loved asking me questions. He's very protective of you."

"Oh really? Should I be concerned about what he was saying?"

"He asked if I liked you," Rick said, grinning down at her. He moved to stand behind her, she was unsure of why until she felt his hand begin to massage her shoulders.

Well this was new.

"And you said?" she teased while trying to turn back to look at him, raising her eyebrow.

"I said 'of course'."

"Did he ask anything else?"

This felt amazing.

"Yes."

"Okay?" she asked, almost letting a moan out of her mouth. He lightly brushed his finger tips down her arm and grabbed one of her hands. She could tell he was avoiding answering. "Rick?"

His eyes dropped down at their intertwined fingers.

"He asked if I was going to leave you guys and when I told him no—he asked if I was going to be his dad."

Kate's hand pulled out from his and flew to cover her mouth. This was exactly what she had been afraid of.

Damn.

What was she supposed to do now?

* * *

><p><em><strong>TBC<strong>_

_Thank you so much for reading! I would love to hear from you. :)_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: To all the lovely guest reviews that I can't personally thank...THANK YOU! _

_Jo- thanks to super!beta_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or any of its dialogue, but all mistakes are mine._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Medical Attention<em>**

* * *

><p>Castle's S1 AU Based on a tumblr prompt from anon: Castle's a doctor, a friend of Lanie's. AU Caskett meeting at Lanie's birthday. *Castle Winter Hiatus 2014 Ficathon Entry*<p>

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

The silence hung in the air and Kate closed her eyes.

This was why she kept people at arm's length. This was exactly what she had been afraid of. Her thoughts were spiraling, bringing the dull pain of her headache back to the forefront.

How she could fix this?

She was trying to piece together a plan when she felt Rick's hand press against the small of her back. Her eyes flew open, his touch bringing her back to the present.

"He asked you what?" she asked in a hushed tone, all of the strength pulled from her body.

"He asked if I was going to leave—"

"Rick—"

"He asked if I was going to be his dad," he admitted, reaching for her hand.

Kate turned to face him, the panic she felt ingrained in every inch of her expression.

"And you said what, exactly?"

He squeezed his eyes tightly closed for a second and then opened them, meeting hers.

"Kate, I didn't know what to say. It's not my place to say anything," he whispered, and she nodded, appreciating the fact he was keeping his voice low.

The last thing they needed was for Liam to wake up and find them discussing his curiosity.

"We've only been dating for a month," Kate said with a nod.

"Correct."

Watching as he croaked out a response, it dawned on her that he wasn't just concerned about Liam's questions, but he also seemed nervous about her reaction.

"And we were supposed to be taking this slow."

"I know."

Another whisper and he closed his eyes again, avoiding her stare. She took a deep breath and sank into his arms. He stiffened at first, but then seemed to relax to pull her closer.

Maybe she was growing, or maybe she was just so desperate for companionship, but she didn't want to push him away.

"Does it feel like we're taking this slow?" she asked, muffled against his shirt.

"In some ways, yes—"

She turned up to meet his eyes as he brushed his hand down her back. Rick gave her a small hesitant smile when she finally found her voice again.

"But in other ways—" Kate's lips stretched into a grin and his hesitation seemed to switch to a sigh of relief.

"You feel it too?"

Squeezing his forearm, Kate moved out of his embrace. The nervous energy that buzzed through her veins made it impossible to keep stationary.

One month.

One month and he was already breaking down the wall that protected her from getting hurt.

Protected her son.

She turned back to him, keeping a safer distance between them.

"I do, and it's scaring the _hell_ out of me, Rick," she said, scrubbing her hands down her face. He closed the space that she created in an instant and pulled her hands away to cup her check with his palm.

"Hey—hey, I can take a step back if you want me to," he said, caressing her skin with such care that she canted into his touch.

"I don't—what if I don't want you to?" she murmured.

He had asked her to trust him on several occasions and not once had he let her down. She couldn't protect her heart anymore because whether she cared to admit it or not, Rick had already found his way there.

"Kate?"

"This is probably incredibly stupid—but I don't want things to change. I like how things are going."

The chill in the air brought goose bumps down her arms which Rick remedied by running his hands down the exposed skin, heating her with his touch.

"I do too, but Liam?"

"…Is my son and the most important thing in my life," she said, pulling one of his hands into her own and leading them to the couch.

"He's not going to stop asking questions."

Rick sat back on the cushions as she sat against the opposite side, bringing her legs to her chest.

"Nope, probably not. He hasn't stopped asking questions since he started talking," Kate said with a soft laugh.

"Tell me what I should tell him."

His eyes pleaded with her and she smiled nudging him with her foot trying to calm him down. Her brief overreaction apparently put him on edge.

"What did you tell him today?"

"I told him I wasn't planning on leaving unless you asked me to and then I distracted him with one of his toys," Rick said with a nervous laugh.

"And that worked?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Surprisingly yes. He told me that I'm the best superhero player."

"Really? That's what he says about me!" she giggled, relaxing into the moment with him.

Someone to share these stories with… it was nice. Even more importantly, Rick genuinely seemed to care and enjoy spending time with Liam

"Well, looks like you better step up your game," he teased, pulling her in close and placing a kiss against her hair.

"Guess so," she said, yawning against his chest. If only she could curl up like this, his arms wrapped around her all night. Yet, the first night she had him in her bed, the last thing she'd want to do was sleep. Definitely a better idea for when she would be healthy.

"You should go back to bed. Call me tomorrow if you need anything—even if I'm at the office," Rick said, against the skin at her temple. Turning around to face him, she eyed him and ran her bottom lip between her teeth.

"How are you so perfect?"

"Far from it," he chuckled.

"You are. I'm not so easy to impress. You must be doing something right," she said with a smile, standing up and pulling him up with her to walk him out.

"You make it easy." Rick brought her into his arms once more and kissed her forehead. "Feel better," he said, with a tight squeeze before he turned toward the door.

"Rick?" she called as he was reaching for the handle.

"Yeah?" he asked, facing her again.

"If he asks you again—I trust you."

"Kate…"

She moved to stand next to the door and pull it open for him. Stretching up to be at eye level with him, Kate carded her fingers through the strands that rested against his forehead.

"Just don't walk away, Rick," she whispered into his ear before kissing his cheek. "And thank you."

* * *

><p>He didn't walk into his loft until close to midnight and was surprised to find Alexis still awake sitting at the counter in the kitchen.<p>

"How's Kate?" she asked, looking up from her textbook. He moved to stand behind her and squeezed her shoulders before he kissed the top of her head.

"Feeling better. Thanks for being so understanding when I called you."

Alexis leaned her head back to look up at him and she smiled.

"No problem. We can go out for pizza any time. You were helping out with Liam."

"I just didn't want you to think I was picking them over you."

Looking over her shoulder, he took grabbed her pencil and drew a smile onto her notes, earning him an eye roll from his daughter.

"Dad, I like Kate and Liam. You're not going to get any unnecessary teenage angst from me. Plus, it gave me more time to study for Chemistry."

"Thanks," he said, walking to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. "I'll make it up to you. I promise."

"You always do. Was the office busy today?"

Rick chuckled at her question.

"Of course. It's the beginning of February. I think every kid in the city besides you and Liam was in there today."

"There's always tomorrow," Alexis joked, closing up her text book.

"Drink extra orange juice," he said with a wink, as she walked over to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Dad."

She gave him a hug and headed for the stairs.

"Sweet Dreams, Pumpkin."

* * *

><p>After days of fighting off whatever cold and flu virus had its death grip on her, Kate finally felt back to her normal self by the time the weekend rolled around again. Rick stopped over at her place almost every night that week to either bring her dinner or to spend time hanging out on the couch after Liam went to bed.<p>

Things were effortless with one another but anytime she stopped to actually think about how perfect they fit into each other's lives, a nervous feeling fluttered in her stomach.

Real life could never be this perfect.

Could it?

As much as she tried to keep the wall around her heart secure, Rick continually wound up within its barrier.

"Hi," she said as she greeted him with a kiss.

"Hey, are you ready?" Rick asked, as Kate let him into the apartment.

"Yeah, I just have to get Liam's coat on and put on my shoes."

"Here, Buddy. Let me help," he said reaching for the jacket.

Kate smiled as she watched Rick getting Liam ready to go outside. Liam hadn't mentioned anything about Rick being his dad since the initial questioning, but she could tell her son was still thinking about it. Whenever Rick was over, Liam would want to sit by him or he would give him a hug anytime he would leave. Just little subtle things, but for a little boy that was such a mama's boy; this was a huge clue to what was going on in her son's mind.

"This is gonna be fun!" Liam exclaimed.

"Have you ever gone ice skating before?" Rick asked as he zipped up his coat.

"No. I was too little. Right, Mommy?"

Liam looked over at her for confirmation and she nodded with a smile.

"Yeah, last year you weren't quite ready, but I think you'll do okay now," she agreed.

"He'll do great. I taught Alexis when she was your age," Rick said, putting Liam's R2-D2 winter hat on.

"Really? Cool!"

With a smile Liam jumped off of the couch and ran toward the door.

"It's too bad Alexis is skiing for the weekend. It would've been fun to have her come along," Kate said, reaching for Liam's hand.

He turned back toward Rick and placed his other hand into his.

"Hold my hand too?" he asked looking up at Rick.

"Always."

He smiled down at Liam and when he looked back up Kate was grinning right at him. The idea of this man being so caring, so loving toward her son; it was completely overwhelming and terrifying at the same time. Yet the way he looked at them both…

It was more than she could've ever asked for.

"Thank you," she whispered as she leaned over to kiss his cheek while they waited for the elevator.

"For what?"

"For being you."

His lips turned into as smile that matched her own and he placed his mouth over hers in a quick, chaste kiss.

"Let's get going before it gets really crowded."

* * *

><p>"Mommy! Look at me!" Liam giggled from across the rink. He only wanted Rick to teach him because he wanted to learn to skate just like Alexis had learned. She had felt a pang of jealousy that her son would choose Rick over her, but after seeing her boyfriend helping her son the feeling disappeared.<p>

To any passer-by, Liam and Rick looked like they were having a father-son teaching moment.

She couldn't help the warmth that spread through her body at the sight of it.

It was adorable.

"I see, Baby! You're doing great," she called out.

Staying behind the pair, she snapped a couple pictures with her phone before she weaved through the other skaters to try and catch up. She was so solely focused on joining the boys that she didn't even notice the man who seemed to come from nowhere.

The crash was inevitable with no time to swerve out of his path.

As her body hit the ice, she could already tell she would have a nice sized bruise tomorrow.

"I'm sorry. I'm not the best on skates," the man said, pushing himself up and brushing the ice off of his pants, before his jaw dropped. "Kate?"

Oh no.

_Seriously_, what were the odds?

"Scott. Hi."

Of all the people she never wanted to run into again, it had to be the one man that made her blood run cold.

Liam's father.

"I didn't mean to—"

"It's fine," she said picking herself up off of the ice. "No harm. I'll see you—"

"Kate? Are you okay?" Rick asked, skating over to her holding Liam's hand. Liam moved to hug her leg.

"Mommy? You fell. I didn't even fall," he mused.

"Is that him? Mine?" Scott asked with wide eyes, as his sight focused on Liam.

Her heart dropped.

His? Biologically?

Yes.

But _his_? There was nothing on this planet that made Liam his. He made that choice long ago when he had slammed the door in her face when she told him she was pregnant.

He made the choice long ago when she sent him a letter with a picture after he was born and there was no reply.

Liam didn't even have a father listed on his birth certificate.

He was in no way _his…_

Kate took a cue from Scott's playbook and turned her back on him to face the men in her life that mattered.

"Hey, Buddy, I'm fine. You're apparently a much better skater than I am," she joked with her son as Rick eyed her and Scott.

"Kate?"

"Babe. I'm okay. I may just need a little massage later," she teased, leaning up to place a heated kiss onto Rick's confused lips.

_Babe?_

She knew she was laying it on a little thick, but it was almost like she was having an out of body experience. Feeling Scott's eyes burn against her skin was making her nearly insane.

Rick played along and didn't out her unusual behavior, but the grip of his hand in hers tightened when Scott cleared his throat.

"Kate? Is this my son?"

Her jaw clenched at his use of the word and her eyes met Rick's with a silent plea.

Understanding washed over Rick's face regarding the situation and he placed a kiss against her cheek. With her back still facing Scott, Rick glared at the man and pulled Liam closer to his side.

"I'll take him to get some hot chocolate," he whispered and she mouthed her thank you before turning back toward her ex.

"Who is that with my son?"

"Frankly you have no right to know who is spending time with me or my son," she spat.

Kate skated toward the edge of the rink, hoping that he would take the hint, but she could sense him following her.

"What if I say I made a mistake, Kate?" Scott asked and she spun around nearly losing her balance again. "I have a right to know my son."

"You had a right when I told you I was pregnant," she said, her eyes glaring at him. "You even had a right when I tried to contact you after I had him. You had a chance to even legally be his father. The only contact you had was to deny paternity. Oh—and the _ever_ important contact from your attorney to sign away your legal parental rights."

She couldn't believe that not only was she having this argument with him, but having it as happy families glided by them. It was almost too much to take.

"People make mistakes, Kate."

"You're right. They do. Our relationship—if you'd even call it that, was a mistake. The only positive was that it gave me the most important person in my life."

"He's so cute."

Was he still honestly pressing the issue?

"Scott, you had over three years. Three years. And just because you randomly see us—_now _you decide after _seeing_ him that you want to know him?"

She couldn't believe this. For a whole year she had prayed that he would want something to do with her son. All she wanted was for Liam to have his father in his life, but she came to terms with the fact that it was all for the best.

Liam was better off without him. And now with Rick? He finally had someone besides her dad and the boys to be a positive male influence in his life.

"Maybe it was fate?"

Fate. If there was ever a time to hate that word, it would be now.

"No Scott. Not fate. This—_this _was the mistake."

She motioned between the two of them and tried to turn away as he reached for her arm.

"I deserve a chance to get to know him."

Shrugging her arm from his grip, she moved to distance herself from him further.

"What? Until you decide he's no longer cute and not worth your time anymore," she snapped.

"I've changed."

"Goodbye, Scott. Please leave us alone."

She turned away and skated off to find the boys near the concession stand huddling over their hot chocolates.

"Mommy! Rick let me get a big one!"

"Well that was very nice of him," she said, forcing a smile on her face for Liam's sake. In reality, her stomach was in knots and she was doing everything in her power to keep her emotions in check.

"I got you one too," Rick said, handing the cup to her and squeezing her free hand. "Do you want to leave?"

"Could we? I just—"

She shook her head as her voice broke off midsentence.

"Hey, don't worry about it."

"Can we get lunch?" Liam asked, looking up at both adults.

"That sounds perfect. What would you like to eat, Liam? My treat," Rick said, bending over to look Liam in the eye.

"Cheeseburger and French fries!"

Kate laughed. This kid could eat that every meal of every day.

"A boy after my own heart."

"Remy's it is," Kate said, lacing her fingers through Rick's.

He looked at her with concern, but she gave him a tight smile and leaned into his side.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked as he pressed a kiss against her temple.

"Later. Not the time."

* * *

><p>"Thanks for today," she whispered, shutting Liam's bedroom door behind them.<p>

The day had been perfect once they left the ice rink.

After they ate lunch at Remy's, Rick had taken them to the museum to explore and look at the dinosaur bones. He told Liam it was his favorite thing to do with Alexis when she was little.

Liam had loved it and begged for Rick to bring him back again soon.

Kate had made dinner at her apartment and Liam had fallen asleep cuddled between them on the couch while they watched TV.

She tried to bury all the worry she felt about seeing Scott today and for the most part she managed to convince herself that it didn't matter.

If anything, it only solidified in her mind how different Rick was.

How_ right_ he was for her…

"No need to thank me. I should thank you for letting me spend the day with you two."

"Rick, I mean it. Thank you for everything—and not just today." She leaned up to fold herself into his arms and found his mouth with a hard press of her lips. "You keep showing up."

"And I always will." He kissed her once more, but stepped back when she tried to deepen it. "Do you want to talk about what happened earlier?"

"Yes, but not now."

He nodded and she brushed her fingers along the stubble on his jaw. Rick gave her a quick peck against her check and squeezed the hand that was resting against his hip.

"I should go—" he said pulling away, but she stopped him from going far.

"Stay."

He looked at her with a stunned expression, but she met his hesitation with wide eyed certainty.

"Kate?"

"Stay," she repeated, her voice stronger than before.

Running her hands through his hair, she brought his face down, meeting his lips in a heated kiss.

A moan broke the silence as Rick's hands played with the hem of her shirt, pulling her closer.

"Tell me to stop," he warned.

"I don't want you to stop."

She was pressed against the warmth of his body as she rolled her hips into his.

"_Kate,_" he groaned against her mouth, a prayer against her lips as his hands moved to worship the skin along her waistband of her pants.

"Bed. _Now_," she gasped, and as he lifted her up she wrapped her legs around him so he could carry her to her room.

There was no reason to deny it.

She wanted Rick and couldn't wait any longer to show him how much.

* * *

><p><em><strong>TBC<strong>_

_Thank you so much for reading! I would love to hear from you :)_


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Thanks to everyone reading and being super supportive of this story. Can't thank you enough!_

_Jo- thanks to super!beta_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or any of its dialogue, but all mistakes are mine._

**_._**

* * *

><p><strong><em>Medical Attention<em>**

* * *

><p>Castle's S1 AU Based on a tumblr prompt from anon: Castle's a doctor, a friend of Lanie's. AU Caskett meeting at Lanie's birthday. *Castle Winter Hiatus 2014 Ficathon Entry*<p>

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>Chapter 9<strong>_

Pressing against his bare skin, Kate looked up him with a lazy grin. Their sweaty, sated bodies were still intertwined after their last frantic round, but it was comforting.

Perfect.

It was safe to say that they were done with waiting.

He would have waited forever to be able to be with Kate, but when she asked him to stay, there was no going back.

"Why did we wait this long?" Kate murmured against his chest.

"You wanted to take it slow."

"I was a fool."

"Don't call my girlfriend a fool," he said, chuckling and pulling her closer.

"We're really good together. I mean—really, _really_ good together. Like other people should be jealous how good," she rambled, in a daze.

"We are and you're sure about this? Right? No regrets?"

He brushed his hand lightly along her arm, leaving goose bumps in its wake.

"Not one."

"Good. Me either," he whispered into her ear and placed a kiss against the shell.

They stayed silent, just listening to each other's heartbeat and breathing lulling themselves to sleep. When he was about to succumb to sleep, his eyes shot open to find Kate cuddled up against him.

"Do you want me to leave?"

Her eyes met his in confusion and she sat up, pulling the sheet around her body.

"What? Why?"

He propped himself up, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear and gave her a small smile.

"Your extra curious son? Don't you think Liam will ask questions…"

Kate leaned back into his body and met his lips with a quick kiss.

"If he does, we'll figure them out together. I want you here with us," she whispered against his lips, but he held her back from deepening a kiss. Gently pushing back her shoulder, he cupped her face with both of his hands.

He needed her to look at him, to see how serious he was.

"You know this is different, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Kate asked, confusion washed over her expression.

"Whatever happened with him—seeing _him_? That's not why you needed me with you tonight, right?"

Kate sat up straight, moving out of his arms.

"Rick? Are you asking if I used you because of my ex?"

Her voice was soft and she looked away from him.

He was an idiot. His gorgeous girlfriend was in bed with him, in his arms and he had to bring up her ex.

What was wrong with him?

"Not—no, but I mean-"

This was _not_ coming out the way he wanted it to. No wonder he hadn't had a relationship recently, he was horrible at it.

Before he could ramble himself further into a hole, Kate reached up to hold his face and planted a firm kiss against his lips.

"You are nothing like him, Rick. You are the exact opposite of _him_," she said with the warmth of her breath washing over his skin. "All that happened by seeing Scott today was to confirm what an amazing man you are. Confirmed that my fears of a relationship were based on thinking everyone would be like him. _You_, Richard Rodgers, are the best thing to come into my life since Liam was born."

He looked down at her face in complete awe of her words, not even a trace of hesitation. The glow of the moon light filtered through the curtains in her bedroom and washed against her body.

She was gorgeous like this.

And in that moment, he _knew_.

Sweeping the hair away from her eyes, he traced his hand against the jut of her cheekbone and leaned forward to press his lips against her again.

"Kate, I lo—"

She nodded, but brushed her fingertips against his mouth so the words wouldn't be spoken.

A fleeting moment of panic and regret were wiped clear when she nuzzled back against his body and brushed a kiss onto his chest.

"I know. Me too," she whispered against his skin.

Maybe she wasn't ready to hear it yet, but he was content knowing that they both felt it.

* * *

><p>She woke up to the feeling of the sun warming her skin and she shot up in bed.<p>

What time was it?

It was a Sunday morning, but the last time she woke up naturally from the sun shining, Liam hadn't been conceived yet.

Was she in a parallel universe?

Looking over at her side, she found a note lying on the night stand.

'_You may want to put some clothes on'_

Shaking her head with a laugh, she hurried out of bed to throw on a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt. Just as she was pulling her short brown hair into the closest thing to a ponytail she could get, Rick and Liam walked into the room with a tray of food.

Thank God she had woken up when she did.

"You found my note?" Rick asked with a smirk.

"Luckily," she teased, rolling her eyes. "What is all of this?"

"We made you breakfast, Mommy!" Liam beamed, running over and jumping on the bed.

"And what's wrong with our perfectly acceptable table?"

"Breakfast in bed is far more fun," Rick said.

Looking at Rick standing there with a beautiful spread of food, she laughed at how lucky she was to have him. He almost told her how he felt last night and even though she knew she felt the same way-

The words had made her panic.

Fairy tales didn't exist, but with Rick, each day he was proving her wrong.

Maybe the words wouldn't so scary after all.

"Oh is it, now."

"Uh huh! That's what Rick said."

She smiled at her son and bit back a laugh.

"I see. So what did you make?" she asked, crawling next to Liam as Rick set down the tray and joined them.

"Pancakes!"

"When did you learn to cook?" she teased Liam and he giggled.

"_Mommy!_ Rick did it. I watched."

"Hey—don't sell yourself short, Buddy. You were a great assistant!"

"Well it all looks delicious. Thanks to the chef and his assistant," she said, tickling Liam's side. "Now let's eat before it gets cold."

* * *

><p>After breakfast, she followed Rick into the kitchen to clean up while Liam went into his room to play. Clearing the tray into the sink, she grabbed his wrist as he started reaching for the dish soap.<p>

"You made me breakfast. I can wash the dishes," she said, swatting him away before he tried again.

"What if I said I wanted to help?" he asked, placing the tray onto the countertop.

"You've done enough already. Those pancakes were incredible."

She chewed onto her bottom lip and turned back to the sink to fill up the basin.

"Mmhmm. Why don't you just ask me?" Rick asked, turning her back to face him. He raised his eyebrow at her and she knew exactly what he meant.

Even though she knew, she didn't want to ask him. She didn't want to act like she didn't trust him.

"Ask you what?"

Her tone gave her away, she knew it.

_This_ was why she was a cop and not an actress.

"Your eyes are basically screaming it. You want to know what Liam and I talked about while you were sleeping."

Busted.

"I do not—I wouldn't—"

"Kate—"

She laughed and lifted her hands in defeat. Pacing away from him, she turned back to him while gnawing on her lip.

Yes, she was nervous, even though she knew she didn't have a reason to be.

"Okay, you're right! You were with him all morning. There's no way he didn't ask you questions."

"Liam was being Liam," he explained, meeting her on the other side of the breakfast bar.

"So I'm assuming he asked why you were here."

"He did and I told him to make you breakfast," he said, nodding.

She scoffed at his explanation.

"And he dropped it?"

"Of course not," he said, pulling her into his arms with a laugh. "He asked if I stayed the night because mommies and daddies usually sleep in the same bed."

Shit.

"_Seriously._ You're waiting 'til _now_ to tell me this?" she asked, her eyes wide. Rick ran his hands down both of her arms. He was smart enough to know that she was freaking out.

"Well I couldn't exactly mention it when he was eating breakfast with us," he whispered, his eyes darting toward Liam's room, before turning back to look at her.

"What did you say?"

"I let him know that I did stay over—"

"He's pretty perceptive, Rick. I think he could tell that on his own."

"I told him I'm not his dad—" he continued and her eyes shut.

It was the truth, but hearing him say it felt like a punch to her stomach even though she had no right to feel that way. What was she doing to Liam?

"Rick, I'm sorry you—" she cut him off, but he shook his head to continue.

"—yet. I said I wasn't his dad, yet. But maybe one day."

Rick's lips quirked up when he noticed her obviously stunned expression.

"Wait. What?"

Her mind raced with all the implications of his words.

One day.

She felt him shake her arm before she realized she was sitting there with her jaw open for probably longer than necessary.

"I'm sorry if I was completely out of line. Hell, I'm sure I was, but in that moment—he was looking up at me with wide eyes, and I just wished… I just wanted things to be simple. I know growing up without a mom around hurt Alexis, and I just don't want that for Liam."

He wished that?

She was a detective and she could tell when someone was feeding her a line.

Rick was being completely sincere and her face broke out in a grin.

"Hey, I'm not mad," she said, tracing the soft skin underneath his eye with the pad of her thumb. "A little shocked, but definitely not mad."

"I know we're still figuring us out and stumbling through finding our way. And obviously it's way too soon to talk about the future. Giving him hope for something without talking to you about it was stupid," he rambled, lowering his eyes.

"Shh," she said, covering his lips with her fingertips. "He doesn't have a dad, he doesn't know what it _means_ to have a dad. But he has you, and I think that's great."

"But I shouldn't have—"

She silenced him with a soft kiss.

"If it makes any difference, I like the idea of one day too," she murmured against his lips.

"Maybe we'll get there… one day."

She brushed the hair from his forehead and then kissed his cheek.

"Yeah. Maybe, but for the time being—"

"We can just focus on living in the present," he said.

"I like that." Kate grinned up at him before pulling him into a tight hug. "And in the present, I need to wash the dishes."

"You wash and I'll dry?"

"Deal."

* * *

><p>"So how's Dr. McDreamy?" Espo teased as she walked into the precinct on Monday.<p>

She rolled her eyes at her partners as they met her at her desk.

"Why is your love life so lacking that you need to gossip about mine?" she asked, putting her bag into her desk drawer.

"I think he's a little jealous, Beckett. You've had more dates recently than he has," Ryan said, laughing in his partner's direction.

"Excuse me. I'll have you know that I had a date this weekend."

"Keep telling yourself that, Espo," Kate said with a smile.

"You have room to talk, Ryan."

Esposito pushed his shoulder and scoffed.

"Maybe, but I'm not bugging Beckett about her _boyfriend_."

"You guys really need some lives."

Laughing, she shuffled through the paperwork on her desk before another case dropped into their laps.

"So when are you going to let us hang out with your doctor? Properly vet him—see if he's good enough for you?" Espo asked.

"Maybe sometime soon I can see if Alexis can watch Liam and we can all go out one night. It'll give me a chance to meet one of your imaginary girlfriends, Espo," she teased.

"Oh, so not imaginary, Chica."

"Mmhmm, I'll let you know when."

"It'll give me a chance to have you all meet Jenny," Ryan added, as they all turned toward him in shock.

"Wait? Didn't you just say you didn't—who's Jenny?" Esposito asked as his eyes still wide.

"She's a girl I just started seeing, but unlike you Javi, I don't kiss and tell."

She smiled at her partner's jab at Esposito; it was about time.

"I'm happy for you, Ryan. I'll talk to Rick and we'll figure out a night."

She took a sip of the latte she had picked up after dropping Liam off at daycare and sighed. Not as good as the coffee that Rick made her, but it was definitely better than the precinct's sludge.

Looking around she noticed the bullpen was quiet for a Monday morning. Maybe they'd actually have a quiet day.

No murder was always a good thing.

Her thoughts jinxed the silence as her phone started to ring.

So much for a _slow_ day.

* * *

><p>Dragging her exhausted body into her apartment, Kate was greeted by her dad. She was so lucky to have him around to help her when she had to stay at work. The daycare had extended hours, but nothing that would begin to cover her crazy schedule as a detective.<p>

"Hey, Katie."

"Hey, Dad. How has he been?"

"Good. He already ate dinner and he fell asleep on the couch afterward. I moved him to his room, but he's probably not out for the night."

"Probably not, but a nap is never a bad thing," she said, smiling. "Thank you so much for getting him."

"Don't worry about it. I love spending time with him. It's never a problem. You know that," he said, as she hugged him and kissed his cheek. "I have to get going though. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Thanks again, Dad."

"Have a good night. Give him a hug goodbye for me."

"I will."

She shut the door behind him and took a deep breath. A moment to finally relax and Liam was actually sleeping, what were the odds?

* * *

><p>After taking a quick peek in on Liam to make sure he was still sleeping, she started a bath for herself. She wouldn't have long to enjoy it because Liam would surely wake up within the hour.<p>

It was still worth it.

Sinking down into the steaming water, she closed her eyes and let the heat relax the tension from her body. This was exactly what she needed.

About an hour had passed, leaving her mind finally at ease when her cell phone started to ring.

Please don't be work.

Looking at the display, she smiled and bit down on her lip.

Rick.

"Hey, you."

"I see you survived the day," he joked.

"Barely. This case is intense and we're at a dead end at the moment."

"Good thing they have New York's best detective working on it."

"I didn't feel like that today. I'm glad you called," she whispered.

"Of course I called. I wish I could come over and see you. What are you and Liam doing?"

She could imagine him lounging in his study.

What she wouldn't give to be curled up against his body…

"Well Liam is sleeping and I'm in the bath," she said, holding back a laugh. She knew she was teasing him but she couldn't help it.

He groaned loudly through the phone and she giggled at the response.

"You're killing me. Seriously," he whined.

"Maybe if you're good and I close the case tomorrow, I'll let you make me dinner tomorrow. I haven't eaten yet and I'm starving."

"I could bring you over something now. Maybe catch the end of your bath?" he suggested, chuckling.

"Too late, Hot Shot. I'm wrapping myself in my robe as we speak," she said.

"Just as well. If I can't be there—"

"Mommy?" Liam called from the other room. She pulled the plug from the tub and walked in search of her son.

To say she wasn't expecting what she found would be a complete understatement.

Liam was standing in the middle of the family room covered in what appeared to be flour.

"I tried to cook you dinner like Rick does," he said, tears streaming down his face.

That would've been enough to put her in a panic, but it only took a quick look into the kitchen to see that things were about to get far, far worse.

Small licks of fire on the stovetop became growing flames in an instant and the smoke alarm started to sound. She stood frozen for a second before her NYPD training kicked in.

"Um Rick, I've gotta go. My kitchen's on fire," she stammered as she dropped the phone and hurried toward the flames.

* * *

><p><em><strong>TBC<strong>_

_Thanks for reading! I would love to hear from you!_


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: For everyone who has been so sweet and supportive of this story. You are all the best._

_Jo- thanks for the extra help with this one. I appreciate it far more than you realize!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or any of its dialogue, but all mistakes are mine._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Medical Attention<em>**

* * *

><p>Castle's S1 AU Based on a tumblr prompt from anon: Castle's a doctor, a friend of Lanie's. AU Caskett meeting at Lanie's birthday. *Castle Winter Hiatus 2014 Ficathon Entry*<p>

* * *

><p><span><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

The fire department arrived quicker than she could've imagined, which was probably due to the fact that she could barely remember calling them; all of her police training had flown out of her mind and while calling the FDNY should have taken precedence over her attempts to quell the flames, it had come a shameful second.

Kate was able to calm Liam's tears as they waited on the sidewalk while the firefighters worked on putting out the flames. She'd had the fire mostly contained at one point but it had become too hot and their extinguisher was underneath the sink right next to the source of the heat. So by now she was sure the flames had to have spread further.

At this point, she had no idea how much of her place had been affected.

The paramedics that had shown up along with the truck luckily had some sweats for her to wear instead of standing on the street in a bathrobe in the middle of a New York City winter. They were huge but she was warmer than she could have been, so she wasn't complaining.

Liam clung to her body and buried his head against FDNY sweatshirt. While the tears themselves had dried up, he was still whimpering softly.

"Mommy, I'm sorry," he said, looking up at her through his eyelashes

"Hey, hey. It was an accident," she whispered, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "You just can't use the stove without an adult around to supervise."

"That's what Rick said."

"You could've been hurt. We're very lucky it was as small as it was," she said against his skin, rubbing his back.

"I just wanted to help."

"You help every day by just giving me a smile or a hug. That's more than enough," she said, lifting his chin to look into her eyes.

The rest of the residents in her building were waiting alongside as she swayed and hummed a melodic rhythm to soothe her son. The last thing she wanted was for Liam to be traumatized by the situation, but hopefully he learned his lesson to avoid cooking alone for a while.

A couple of her neighbors checked to make sure they were okay once they learned that the fire was in their unit. She just smiled politely at their concern and went back to comforting her son.

"Kate?"

Frantic footsteps and gasps for air were followed by the call. Rick wrapped his arms around her and Liam before she could even entirely turn around to face him.

"Hey," she murmured as he pulled her closer and kissed her hard against her mouth.

"Are you both alright? I didn't know what to think when you hung up. I had to make sure you guys were okay." His voice was thicker than usual. The worry he had to be feeling was painted on every inch of his features as she ran her free hand against the stubble on his jaw.

"We're fine, Rick. Just a small kitchen fire," she said, stepping back.

"I tried to cook," Liam admitted, turning his head away from her chest and toward Rick.

"Do you want me to take a look at him? Burns? Smoke inhalation?"

"Yeah. I think he's fine from what I could tell, but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt."

She nodded and Rick reached his arms out from her son.

"Hey Buddy. Let's go sit over here," Rick said, holding Liam close.

Kate could tell by the way that Rick was clinging onto her son; the phone call had scared him more than he cared to admit. She followed as he looked over Liam for any signs of trauma and took a deep breath.

"I think the biggest thing he needs is a bath," Kate said, able to look at Liam with fresh eyes now that Rick held him; his clothes and skin were still covered head to toe in flour.

"Well he can have one as soon as we get back to my place," Rick explained while ruffling Liam's hair and setting him down on the sidewalk next to them.

Biting down on her lip, she looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Excuse me? What makes you think we're going to your place?"

"Your apartment was on fire," he stated.

"A small kitchen fire. It didn't spread," she protested, the line sounding weak to her own ears when she admitted to herself that she didn't really know that it hadn't spread, but surely it couldn't have moved much further from when they left.

"How do you—did you talk to the fire department yet?" Rick asked, changing his question midway when he realized Liam was staring up at him with a concerned look.

"Not yet. And even if we can't stay—um, Rick, I can't expect you to have Liam and I stay with you. That's too—"

Her dad's place was too small for the two of them to stay with him, but she could just as easily get a hotel for a couple days. Rick's loft would be a better option, but he had his mother and daughter to think of as well.

Adding a three year old, even temporarily, was a lot to ask.

"Kate, unless for some reason you don't feel comfortable… but if you're thinking that you're imposing, you're not. I want you both there," he said, cupping her cheek so she would look into his eyes.

"Rick, we'll see," she said with a sigh. Things had been going so well, but this was something huge. Staying with him? That could ruin everything that they were building. Too much pressure, too soon.

"Ms. Beckett?"

Kate looked up at the fireman walking toward them as Rick lifted Liam back into his arms. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him pressed a kiss against the side of Liam's head. A small hesitant smile formed on her face as her mind flashed to an imaged of them in the future. Rick was perfectly ingrained in the daydream and her previous doubts started to disintegrate.

"Ms. Beckett?"

The man waved his hand in front of her face as embarrassment flooded against her cheeks.

Oops.

"Yes! Sorry! Is it safe to go up now?"

"The fire has been contained but can I suggest that your son stays down here with his dad while you gather some things—"

"Oh, that's not his dad. Rick's, my boyfriend…" she rambled and shook her head as the man just stared at her expressionlessly. "I'm sorry. You don't care… gather my things?"

"You'll see what I mean when we get up there," he stated.

"Okay." She turned back to Rick as concern shone in his eyes. "Stay with him?"

Rick nodded in her direction and brushed his hand against Liam's head.

"Always."

* * *

><p>Her breath caught in her throat and her heart sank to her stomach when she walked into her home. The kitchen was destroyed and part of the family room was as well. She was now grateful that she had decided to evacuate when she did, but obviously it was far bigger than she had initially thought.<p>

Walking through the space, she grimaced when she caught sight of the couch damaged beyond repair. So many good memories of family movie nights, literally up in smoke.

Now she knew why it was necessary for Liam to stay outside with Rick. This was making her emotional and she could only imagine how terrified her son would be.

"Ms. Beckett?"

"Yes?"

"I recommend getting a bag together for your family…"

"Mmhmm…"

She could barely think straight as all of the thing she'd need to take care of flashed through her mind.

"Miss?"

"Detective… Detective Beckett. I work down at the 12th," she explained as schooled her emotions and slipped into work mode. Emotional mother wouldn't help at a time like this.

"Okay, Detective Beckett. By the looks of things, I'd say you'll have to find a place to stay for awhile."

"I agree," she said looking around.

No, Liam wouldn't step back into this place until it was fixed. He was already upset enough. She wouldn't let him have the memory of what his accident did to his home permanently scarring him.

"I'll give you some time, but the quicker you can get some things together…"

"Thanks. I'll be quick."

Before she packed a bag for Liam and herself, she walked back to her room to put on some clothes that actually fit her, but soon realized everything in the apartment smelled like smoke.

Digging through her drawers to find a pair of jeans and a shirt, she threw on the smoky items and tossed the oversized FDNY sweats onto her bed.

It was better than nothing…

She grabbed the biggest bag she had and tossed in a couple days' worth of clothes for herself along with toiletries before she walked toward Liam's room. She stopped short when she found Liam's blankie on the ground in the family room, right outside of the path of the damage.

Reaching down to hold the blanket to herself, she broke down in the middle of the room.

* * *

><p>"I had Alexis set up the guest room for Liam," Rick explained, walking through the door carrying Liam's sleeping body as she followed him, carrying their bag. Looking down at the boy passed out in his arms, he smiled to himself. Guess he'd have to wait until tomorrow for a bath.<p>

"It's just for tonight. Until I can figure something else out," Kate said, trudging behind him up the stairs.

When she had met them on the street, he could see the look in her eyes. It had been worse than she had expected. She hadn't even argued when he wrapped his arm around her and led her to his place.

"Anything you need…"

"Let's just get him into bed," she whispered, as she put down the bag and lifted Liam from his arms to lay him down.

He stood back in the doorway and just watched in awe. She had to be the strongest woman he had ever met. It was obvious that the day had taken its toll on her, but she kept moving forward.

Liam had asked him several questions about the fire while Kate was inside getting their belongings. He wanted more than anything to tell him that he would make everything okay, but he didn't get to decide.

Every day he fell more in love with this family, but watching as she kissed Liam's head goodnight, he knew this wasn't the time to tell her.

"I don't know…" Kate started when she met him in the hallway, but her voice broke.

"What don't—"

"What is this going to do to him?" she asked as she leaned her forehead against his chest. Her body deflated into his embrace when he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You make things normal for him. Just give him nothing but love—"

Her head shot up and he could finally see the tears that threatened to fall.

"Rick, I couldn't—we could've been hurt. I could've lost him!"

"But you are both safe. They'll fix your apartment before you know it, but what matters the most is that both of you are fine," he reminded and pulled her back into a hug.

"I tried to put it out myself," she mumbled against his shirt.

"Then you're lucky that you didn't hurt yourself."

"I am. I was an idiot. I'm a cop—I've had enough emergency training, but when it came to my own home and my own family…" she scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"You're not superhuman."

"As much as I'd like to be. I know—you're right."

"Let's get these clothes in the wash to get the smoke off of them."

She nodded with a small smile and picked up the bag from the floor.

"Thanks Rick. Seriously, for everything. I promise we'll be gone tomorrow and out of your hair."

"Kate, stay. Please," he said, cupping her face and wiping away the stray tear that rolled down her cheek, with the pad of his thumb. He leaned forward and feathered a soft kiss against her lips. "Stay."

"If I agree to stay until my apartment is fixed, will you promise to tell me if it gets to be too much? I really like you, Rick. I lo—I like us," she whispered. "This is too new for this added pressure, what if we crumble?"

He shook his head slightly and kissed her again.

"We'll be amazing. Without a doubt…"

Taking the bag from her, he laced his fingers with hers and led her downstairs.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Kate," Alexis greeted from the kitchen. "I made you some hot chocolate." He could see the hesitation in his daughter's eyes; Alexis wanted to help but she didn't know how so she did the one thing he always did for her when she was upset.<p>

Double marshmallow hot chocolate.

"I'll get these in the wash for you. Go sit down and relax," he said, kissing Kate's cheek as he turned to put a load of clothes into the machine.

When he joined them a couple minutes later, Kate was seated at the breakfast bar with a smile on her face.

"Alexis explained that you're the one responsible for this?" Kate asked, lifting her mug in his direction.

"Anytime I'm having a bad day, he makes me his special hot chocolate. Maybe it can't solve all the problems of the day, but it always seems to help," she explained, smiling into her cup.

"Secret recipe," he said, kissing the top of her head before he sat down in between his girls. "Maybe I'll share it with you one day." He winked at Kate and reached for his mug.

"You're okay with me and Liam staying here for tonight, right?" she asked Alexis.

"Wait—tonight? I figured you guys would be staying here for awhile."

Smart girl.

He grinned his approval at his daughter's statement and turned back toward Kate.

"What about your mother?"

"She's out of town for a couple days at some retreat, but she won't mind, Kate. I told you, we want you here."

"It'll be fun having Liam around," Alexis said, nodding in agreement.

Note to self, he needed to raise her allowance.

"You promise you'll tell me if it becomes too much? Either one of you?"

"Promise."

"Promise," he said, reaching over to squeeze her hand.

"Okay. You win. We'll stay."

* * *

><p>After staying up to talk to Alexis for a little while, Kate could feel the weight of the day upon her as her eyes began to droop.<p>

"Let's get you to bed," Rick whispered into her ear. She nodded and let him lead her into his room.

Looking around his room, she smiled to herself. This would be the first time she'd be sleeping in his bed.

And she felt and looked like death warmed over.

"I smell like smoke," she admitted.

"Not that bad."

She rolled her eyes at his obviously false statement.

"_Rick_."

"Okay, fine. You do, but it's nothing a shower won't fix." He winked at her suggestively and she grinned. "Here," he said, opening one of his dresser drawers. "Just wear this to bed since your clothes haven't finished up yet."

"Thanks."

She took the red t-shirt and boxer shorts from his hand and followed him into the bathroom.

"Towel, washcloth." He handed her the items and moved closer to the shower before turning it on for the hot steam to fill the room. "Let me go grab your toiletries from the hallway so you don't have to smell like me. That would just be … confusing," he teased.

"Okay."

Setting the towel down on the stool next to the shower, she removed the smoky items from her body and stepped into the welcoming water stream. Washing away the pain of the day, she closed her eyes and let the heat run down her body, soothing her.

"Oh, uh. Kate?"

She opened her eyes to find her slack jawed boyfriend standing there with her shampoo and body wash in hand. "Are you just going to stand there? Or are going to come in and help?"

* * *

><p>The water ran cold by the time they were wrapping themselves in the fluffy white cotton of Rick's towels, but it was exactly what she had needed to help her forget about everything that had happened for the time being.<p>

"Mandatory nightly showers," Rick husked in her ear.

"Oh really?"

"Yep, newly appointed house rules for detectives."

She laughed as she finished drying herself off and started put on his clothing.

"I think that can be arranged. Your showerhead is amazing."

"Really? The showerhead?"

"Among other things," she said, shooting him a look from over her shoulder as she walked into his bedroom.

"I could get used to you staying here," he called from behind. She sat down onto the bed and watched as he joined her.

"Rick, this is temporary."

"I know. I was—"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," she said, turning to him and kissing his cheek.

"Okay. I'll try, but on a different subject –can I just say how hot you are, wearing my clothes?"

"_Caveman_," she joked, bopping him lightly with one of his throw pillows.

"You should probably get some sleep. I have to be at the office tomorrow. Are you going to the precinct?"

"No, I called and talked to Montgomery when I was up in my apartment. He wants me to take the day to get things handled. Ryan and Esposito will call me if there are any developments with the case."

He pushed back the blankets and crawled into bed, reaching for her hand to pull her down next to him. Sinking down into his mattress, she realized she'd never sleep the same in her bed again. She had never had a bed this comfortable.

"It's official. I'm stealing your bed when I move back into my apartment," she said, sighing as she closed her eyes.

"You'll have to kick me out of it first," he said, chuckling and kissing her cheek. "Goodnight, Kate."

She turned so that her mouth met his before snuggling into his chest. The night may have been full of unforeseen drama so far, but at least, Liam was safely asleep upstairs, and for now, she was content in Rick's arms.

* * *

><p><em><strong>TBC<strong>_

_Thanks so much for reading! I would love to hear from you!_


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Love you all! Sorry I didn't individually respond to each of you last chapter, but all your words are so appreciated! :)_

_Jo- thanks for the help and the friendship!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or any of its dialogue, but all mistakes are mine._

* * *

><p><strong><em>Medical Attention<em>**

* * *

><p>Castle's S1 AU Based on a tumblr prompt from anon: Castle's a doctor, a friend of Lanie's. AU Caskett meeting at Lanie's birthday. *Castle Winter Hiatus 2014 Ficathon Entry*<p>

* * *

><p>.<p>

**Chapter 11**

"So what do you want to do today?" Rick asked, wrapping his arms around her waist while she sipped her coffee.

"Oh, I don't know. I honestly can't believe we're both off today," she said, squirming as his hand slid underneath her shirt to skate against the skin of her abdomen.

"Well how about we start off by having breakfast before Alexis needs to go to school."

"Sounds perfect."

She turned in his arms to kiss his lips before he moved to the fridge to start cooking.

"Mommy?" Liam called from the stairs.

"Hey, Sweetheart," she greeted, as her son ran over and jumped into her arms. "Good Morning."

"Morning. I'm hungry," he said.

Smiling at his sleepy expression, she brushed her hand through his messy hair and kissed his forehead.

"I'm getting ready to make breakfast for everyone right now, Buddy," Rick said, setting all the ingredients onto the countertop.

"Pancakes?"

"Is there anything else to have for breakfast?"

Kate shook her head and smiled at her son.

"Liam, you can't get used to this, Babe. When we move back home, you know I don't make pancakes every morning," she teased and sat him down on one of the stools at the counter to free her hands for her coffee.

Rick looked up from cracking an egg with an inquisitive expression. For the week and a half that they had stayed here they had tiptoed around the topic of her moving home. For her part, she couldn't deny that it was amazing sleeping in his arms every night but it wasn't reality.

Living together, full time was too much, too soon.

"I like it here," he whispered, as Rick slid a cup of milk over to him.

"I do too, but we knew from the beginning that this was just for a little while. Plus, it looks like it will be a little while longer anyway. The contractor just left me a message that there was a delay in pulling permits to do the electrical work."

"Well that's—" Rick said before he bit his lip and went back to stirring the batter. She raised her eyebrow at his sudden lack of words, but she didn't want to press the issue with Liam sitting there. He wasn't off the hook entirely. "So, Liam what do you want to do today?"

"Dinosaurs?"

"What does your mom think?"

"If the boy wants dinosaurs, I think we should let him see dinosaurs," she said, shaking her head with a laugh as she started to sort through a stack of mail that had been forwarded from her apartment before she became distracted.

"The museum it is!"

"Yay, dinosaurs!" Liam giggled with a clap of his hands as a sleepy Alexis finally joined them in the kitchen.

"Do I smell pancakes?"

"Your nose is correct," Rick said, smiling at his daughter. He flipped a few pancakes onto a couple plates for the kids before doing the same for the adults.

"Man, I could get used to Kate and Liam being here every morning. Dad never cooks breakfast this often," Alexis joked.

Even though she knew she was kidding, Kate's heart sank at her words. They had been here such a short amount of time and yet they were already getting into a rhythm for their daily schedule.

It worked, and it scared her to death.

She just kept telling herself this was too soon, protection for her heart from falling too fast.

If she was being entirely honest with herself though, it was already too late.

This was comfortable. This was safe. And just because it was temporary didn't mean she couldn't enjoy every moment; watching the four of them enjoy their breakfast together, she couldn't help but smile.

"What?" Rick asked and she shrugged.

"Nothing. Just thanks for breakfast," she said, cutting up more of Liam's pancakes. She was about to go back to her own plate when she noticed a handwritten envelope from the corner of her eye from the stack of forgotten mail.

She _never_ got real mail anymore.

Her imagination began to wander when she heard her cell phone buzz next to her, pulling her out of her thoughts.

Work.

Damn.

"Beckett."

"Hey, Beckett."

"Sir, it's my day off," she started.

"I know, and I wouldn't be calling you if it wasn't necessary."

"A homicide was just called in and we have a couple officers out sick today. Is there any way you can assist?"

She looked around and met Rick's eyes in a panic as he mouthed '_it's okay_' to her.

"Fine. I'll be there as soon as I can," she said.

There went the idea of their perfect day.

"You have to work, Mommy?"

"Yeah, Buddy. I'm afraid so. I guess no dinosaurs today."

"I can still take him, if you'd like? Or I can drop him off at daycare for you? Whatever you want me to do to help," Rick said, walking over to her and rubbing his hand down her arm.

She gave him a small smile and a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you," she whispered against his ear before turning to her son. "Do you want to spend the day with Rick or go to school with your friends?"

"Rick and dinosaurs!"

"Okay, you can spend the day with Rick." Kate turned toward her son to give him a hug and kiss. "Please be good today."

He nodded and she moved back to Rick's waiting arms after taking one final sip of coffee.

"Guess I'm pretty exciting," he said with a smirk.

"Don't flatter yourself, Doctor. It's all about the dinosaurs," she teased as she kissed his cheek again, grabbed the mail and walked back to the bedroom to get ready.

Finally looking at the handwriting on the envelope, she got an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach as she took in the return address.

The letter was from Scott.

* * *

><p>Holding onto Liam's hand, Rick led them down the sidewalk after the museum. The further down the block they moved, the more the crowd picked up and the more people began to push their way around them. After someone nearly knocked Liam down, Rick swooped him up into his arms.<p>

"Better?"

"Better," he said, nodding into his chest.

"Do you want to go grab a slice of pizza before we head back to the loft?"

"Yes! I love pizza!"

"I know you do," Rick said with a laugh.

He headed in the direction of his favorite pizza place while continuing to carry Liam. Having him around at the loft has been just as much fun for Rick as it seemed to be for him; he missed Alexis being little.

Nothing could ever replace his little girl growing up, but the fact that he had the opportunity to spend more time with Liam while they were staying with him was nice. When Alexis was a baby, he had imagined that he'd have more kids one day, but after his marriage to Meredith had fizzled, the odds of that happening seemed to vanish. Once his divorce was finalized, he threw himself into his work and being the best father he could be to Alexis.

As for relationships?

Anything longer then two dates was a rarity and he had never pictured any of those women as a potential mother of his child.

But _this_?

With Kate?

He had never fallen so hard so fast.

And Liam?

The fact that he was part of the deal gave him hope; not only was he dating Kate, but he could see how one day the four of them could be a family.

"I just want cheese," Liam whispered to him as they walked into the busy pizzeria.

"Not even pepperoni?"

"Nope, too spicy. Mommy says I'm boring," he said with a giggle.

"Well, if you just want cheese we'll get just cheese." Rick tickled his side and set him down next to him while he ordered the food.

They managed to find a place to sit and eat their lunch while joking and laughing. He was truly lucky that Liam connected with him so quickly. It didn't hurt that he was around kids all day, but Kate's son?

This was different. This would have been a deal breaker.

"You're funny, Rick."

"You're just learning this now? I must not be doing my job," he said, throwing their garbage away and reaching for Liam's hand to leave.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes?" Rick asked, turning to face the older woman standing there with a smile on her face.

"I'm sorry, but I just needed to tell you. Your son is just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. So well behaved!"

"He's um—he's—"

"He's not my dad," Liam piped up.

Oh, well it was the truth, but it still hurt.

"How rude of me to assume. I'm sorry for—"

"It's fine," Rick said with a polite smile, pressing his thumb and index finger to the bridge of his nose.

Why did it sting so much?

* * *

><p>Luckily the case that Kate had been called in on wasn't as time-consuming as it could have been. A woman had been murdered walking home from work, but the area that it had happened had several security cameras. Now they were just waiting for tech to process the video.<p>

"What's in the letter?" Lanie asked, walking over to her desk handing Kate a cup of coffee.

"What?"

"The letter. Kate Beckett, I've known you long enough to know when you're obsessing on something. You were looking at it before I walked into the break room and you're still looking at it. You're obsessing."

"I'm not obsessing," she scoffed.

"Oh really? So the fact that you keep looking down at the same envelope on your desk instead of telling me about life at casa de la Rodgers means nothing?" Lanie asked with a flail of her hand.

"One, I'm not going to gossip with you in the middle of the _bullpen_," she hissed and took a sip from the mug.

"I came by to update you on the body and if you give me some details while we're at it..." Lanie raised her eyebrow at her and gave a small smirk. She was one of her best friends but there were times she could strangle her.

"Two, you're friends with Rick as well. Remember? You set us up? You could always harass him yourself."

"It's more fun getting the info from you. Rick doesn't like to kiss and tell."

She knew Rick was a great guy, but the fact that he hadn't spilled anything to Lanie was even better. Their relationship didn't need the extra pressure from outside sources. It was already under enough.

"And I do? How long have we been friends?"

"Long enough to know you're doing everything in your power to avoid talking about that envelope," she teased, pointing back to the stack of mail.

"I don't know what it is," Kate admitted.

In the grand scheme of things she would rather talk about this than dive into any personal details about Rick.

"So why?"

"The return address. It's from Scott."

"Scott, your ex. The man that knocked you up and then years later knocked you down in an ice rink, Scott," Lanie shouted as her eyes widened.

"Yes, Lanie. _That_ Scott. And could you keep it down? The guys could probably hear you from the break room."

She leaned her head forward and ran her hands through her hair before trying to hide her face from the room. This wasn't the time or the place to have this conversation.

"Okay, so…"

"So, I haven't opened it. I don't—I can't think of any reason for him to contact me. Any_ good_ reason, at least," she said, looking back up at her friend.

"Well he has no rights, Kate. Anything he says in that letter won't change things."

"No. But the unknown…"

Fear wasn't an emotion she was comfortable with in her position as a detective, yet she was accustomed to the feeling as a mom.

"…Is terrifying, but when you face it head on… that's courage and strength Kate. And you're the strongest woman I know."

"Thank you," she murmured, fidgeting with the corner of the paper.

"Don't thank me. Open it."

Nodding briefly, she folded up the envelope and placed it in her pocket.

"I will. When I'm alone."

"Fine. I get it, but if you need anything, call me," Lanie said, placing her hand on top of hers and giving it a small squeeze.

"Promise."

* * *

><p>The envelope felt heavy in her coat. Heavier than it should for just the paper inside, but as she pulled it out and toyed with the seal with the edge of her nail; she knew she was the one putting the weight there. Scott no longer held the power in the situation.<p>

Like ripping a Band-Aid off, she tore it open and reached for the letter inside. They were just words on a piece of paper. He wasn't there.

Just words.

Yet…

'_Kate-_

_I have no right to send you this. No right to contact you, but my life has changed in so many ways since you've known me. I needed to tell you._

_I have no right to ask for your forgiveness or Liam's. My son. _

_Wow. He's real and not just an idea on a legal document._

_Things change, Kate and so do people. I've changed. I have, but when I saw you that day at the ice rink… when I saw my son? I didn't know how to react. I didn't know what to say to make things better._

_From what I can tell you are both doing well and honestly that's all I could ever want. When you knew me all those years ago, I couldn't take care of myself and we were both hiding from life with each other. It was a nowhere relationship and we were far from in love._

_When I gave up all rights, I thought I was doing the best thing for our kid… your kid. I didn't have anything to offer him._

_I know it's too late to be his father, Kate. _

_Maybe things will heal in time so the hurt will no longer be so fresh when I see the two of you. _

_And maybe, one day…_

_I'd be lucky enough to get to know him._

_I don't want to ruin his life Kate. I don't want to ruin yours._

_I just want a chance._

_-Scott'_

That was…

Not what she had expected.

Her breath was lodged in her throat as she grabbed for her phone from the center console.

"Hey."

"Hey, everything okay?"

"Yeah, it will be. On my way now. I just—thank you for being with him today," she said, her voice cracking as she refolded the paper.

"Of course. Are you sure everything is okay? You sound upset."

"I'm fine. I am. I just—I needed to tell you how much you mean, how much all of this means to me."

The words grew stronger by the time she finished her sentence and she shoved the letter away. It wasn't bad, but the words were a little too late to really change the situation. Scott would never be Liam's dad and that was okay.

In the end, maybe it was better this way.

"Kate, you don't have to thank me. Why don't you come home and I'll open some wine. Just let you relax. It's already late."

Rick never faltered with his care for her or for Liam. He just stepped into the position willingly and she loved him more every day for it.

She loved him.

When she took a moment to finally allow herself to acknowledge it, she smiled into the phone as she listened to his voice.

It wasn't even a question anymore. She just needed to tell him.

"Sounds perfect, Doctor."

* * *

><p>Kicking off her heels by the front door, she was greeted by Rick handing her a glass of red. She hummed softly into her glass; life at the loft definitely had its perks.<p>

"Tough case?" he asked, slinking his arms around her waist to pull her close. The family room was clear and quiet which led her to believe that the rest of the household was either out or sleeping.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," she said, leaning up to kiss his lips.

"What about for those who aren't super detectives?"

"We have some strong leads. Nothing concrete yet."

He left his arms against her body as he led her further into the room. The warmth of his body up against hers eased the stress of the day with just his presence next to her.

"Are you hungry? I have dinner warming in the oven for you…"

"Will it keep if we wait a bit?" she asked, scrunching up her nose and turning to face him.

"Yeah, it'll be fine. I suspected you wouldn't want to eat right away anyway."

"Oh really? And what else did you have in mind?" she asked as they walked toward his room into the adjoining bathroom. Her eyes were met with dozens of flickering candles and a pre-drawn bath.

"Relaxation awaits," he whispered against the shell of her ear before kissing it.

A grin stretched onto her mouth as she spun around to face him.

"Wow, Rick. You've really outdone yourself."

"Well we were supposed to spend the day together and that didn't happen, but I assumed you needed this." Rick ran his hands down her arms and kissed her on the forehead.

She nodded. "I do, but I need you more."

"Was that an invitation?"

"It was," she said, running her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Then how could I refuse?"

"It wasn't so much a question as a demand," she said, lacing their fingers together and walking toward the tub before removing their clothing.

"I like it when you're bossy."

"_Rick_!" she giggled.

"That sounded dirtier than I intended, but I don't disagree with that meaning either," he said with a wink as she swatted at his upper arm. He eased himself down into the water and then she followed to curl up against his body.

"I know you mentioned last week that daily joint showers should be a rule, but can we change it to this." She sighed and turned her head to rest against his chest as he traced his hands along the curves of her side.

This was perfect...

The perfect time to finally stop hiding from the words that she wanted to…needed to say.

"Kate? Today while we were out…"

She wanted to hear what he had to say, but she knew if she didn't say it in this moment; she would lose her nerve. Adjusting herself to straddle his lap, she placed her fingertips against his mouth to silence his statement.

This had to be now.

Perfect.

"Rick, I love you."

* * *

><p><em><strong>TBC<strong>_

_Thank you so much for reading this story and this chapter! Hope you are still with me! I would love to hear from you._


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